UN rights chief calls for dialogue to prevent conflict, ease social unrest in Ecuador

[Judi Lynn]

29 November 2019
Human Rights

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Friday denounced the “high human cost”, of the recent unrest in Ecuador and urged all actors in the South American country to engage in dialogue to prevent new conflicts and forge an inclusive society “with full respect for its multicultural nature”.

Ms. Bachelet also said that after reviewing the information she has received from a UN Office of Human Rights (OHCHR) mission dispatched to the from 21 October to 8 November, there was a need for an independent, impartial and transparent investigations into allegations of human rights violations and abuses committed during the protests from 3 to 13 October.

OHCHR mission to Ecuador
On the findings of the OHCHR investigative team, Ms. Bachelet that according to the data collected, during the 11 days of social unrest (from October 3 to 13), at least nine people died and 1,507 were injured, including 435 members of the security forces. The number of detainees amounted to 1,382. There are allegations that many of these people were arbitrarily detained.

. . .

According to OHCHR, the team received reports from victims and witnesses of use of force by law enforcement officials that was not in conformity with international norms and standards, including unnecessary and disproportionate use of force. Law enforcement officials included the police and the military, which was deployed following the declaration of a state of exception.

More:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1052481