Ecuador

Ecuador faces serious human rights challenges, including poor prison conditions and violence, security agencies’ excessive use of force, restrictions on women’s and girls’ access to reproductive health care, and limited protection of children’s and refugee rights. In 2021, the Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion when the pregnancy results from rape, but implementation of the ruling is still pending. Several allegations of corruption marred the Covid-19 pandemic response. Reforms carried out during former President Lenin Moreno’s government (2017-2021) to repair damage to democratic institutions inflicted by his predecessor, former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), improved the independence of key institutions. But reports of trial delays and allegations of improper pressure on courts and lack of due process in high-profile corruption cases continued.