Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Convenio sobre pueblos indígenas y tribales, 1989 (núm. 169) - Ecuador (Ratificación : 1998)

Article 1 of the Convention. Identification of the peoples covered by the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are 14 indigenous nationalities and 18 indigenous peoples settled on the coast, in the Sierra and in Amazonia. According to the VIIIth Population Census and the VIIth Housing Census of 2022, 7.7 per cent of the national population identify as being indigenous, 4.8 per cent as being Afro-Ecuadorian and/or Afro-descendent and 7.7 per cent as Montubio. For the purposes of the census, a Commission for Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio Peoples was created in the National Institute of Statistics and Census with the objective of creating a space for actors interested in the analysis and dissemination of statistical data with a view to improving the visibility of indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio peoples and nationalities. 

The Committee also notes the adoption in December 2024 of the Regulations on the registration and concession of legal personality to communes and communities, peoples and nationalities, and to no-profit-making organizations of peoples and nationalities (Decision No. SGDPN-SGDPN-2024-0008-R). In accordance with section 8 of the Regulations, the granting of legal personality is a legal recognition accorded to an organization of a people or nationality that exists or pre-existed the State and which enjoys constitutional recognition. For that purpose, the peoples concerned have to submit, among other elements, an anthropological study providing proof of their historical existence, a “governance and co-existence agreement – Statute” in the language of the indigenous people and in Spanish, and the geographical reference of the location of the people.

The CEOSL and PSI observe that the requirements set out in Decision No. SGDPN-SGDPN-2024-0008-R (Regulations on the registration and concession of legal personality) constitute a bureaucratic process that makes the exercise of collective rights conditional upon State validation and that, in practice, communities that cannot fulfil these requirements would remain excluded from institutional participation and public programmes. In its reply, the Government reiterates that the Decision issues rules governing processes, procedures and minimum requirements based on the principle of equality in order to guarantee the application of the collective rights of indigenous peoples and prevent their violation. It emphasizes that the requirement of anthropological and historical studies only applies to the creation or recognition of new peoples and nationalities, and self-definition is determining for the granting of legal personality.

The Committee recalls that Article 1(2) of the Convention provides that self-identification as indigenous or tribal shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention apply. The Committee observes that the possession of legal personality, although it may be considered a necessary element to facilitate the implementation of policies and programmes intended for the peoples covered by the Convention, should not result in practice in a limitation of the exercise of the rights recognized in the Convention and particularly of self-identification. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effect given to Decision No. SGDPN-SGDPN-2024-0008-R, with an indication of the manner in which assistance is provided to the peoples concerned to obtain legal personality, and the form in which it is ensured that those communities that self-identify as indigenous and have not been able to obtain such personality are able to benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing updated and disaggregated statistical data on the demographic and socio-economic situation of all the peoples covered by the Convention, including the Afro-descendent population. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which these peoples collaborate in the collection, dissemination and discussion of the statistical data that concerns them. 

Articles 2 and 33. Coordinated and systematic action. The Committee notes that the Secretariat for the Management and Development of Peoples and Nationalities is the institution responsible for the management, coordination and implementation of public and private investment and international cooperation to promote the economic development, strengthen the organizational capacities and reduce social gaps relating to indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio peoples. The Secretariat includes in its structure a Directorate of Public Policies for Peoples and Nationalities and a Department for the Registration of Communities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which indigenous peoples participate in the formulation, discussion and implementation of public policies relating to their rights within the Secretariat for the Management and Development of Peoples and Nationalities.

Articles 3 and 18. Human rights. Protection of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. In previous comments, the Committee noted the National Policy on Peoples in a Situation of Voluntary Isolation of 2007, as well as allegations of incursions by third parties in the areas inhabited by the Tagaeri-Taromenani peoples in voluntary isolation. The Committee notes the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case Indignous Tagaeri and Taromenane Peoples v. Ecuador, issued on 4 September 2024. In the case, the Court examined allegations of violations of the human rights of these peoples in the context of projects that affect their lands, natural resources and ways of life, as well as violent deaths of members of the peoples. After declaring the international responsibility of the State for the violation of various rights of these peoples, the Court also referred to the decision taken through popular consultation in Ecuador on 20 August 2023 not to exploit oil block No. 43 in which the Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples are settled.

The CEOSL and PSI allege that the current framework for the protection of peoples in voluntary isolation is fragile and inconsistent in its application, as it has been systematically relativized in respect of the interests of extraction, particularly in the Yasuní National Park. In its reply, the Government recognizes the importance of protecting the lands of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation from unauthorized intrusion, especially in highly sensitive areas, such as the Yasuní. It indicates that it is working on strengthening the mechanisms to guarantee effective safeguards for these collective lands and emphasizes that meetings and working groups are organized with the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Cotopaxi (UMORIC), the NAWE indigenous people and various land-related bodies through provincial authorities as channels of direct coordination between the Government and citizens.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the context of the National Policy on Peoples in a Situation of Voluntary Isolation, with an indication of the manner in which the physical and cultural integrity of these peoples is safeguarded in relation to development projects carried out near their areas of settlement. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to ensure the integrity of the indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation located in the Yasuní National Park.

Articles 8 and 12. Customary law and access to justice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a legislative reform is being undertaken to strengthen judicial pluralism and cooperation between the ordinary and indigenous justice systems within the context of the examination of the draft text of the Basic Act to reform the Basic Code on the functioning of the judiciary. The draft text also includes provisions to guarantee the autonomy of indigenous justice and non-interference in the ordinary system. The Committee also notes that, in their observations, the CEOSL and PSI allege that, despite the fact that article 171 of the Constitution specifically requires the formulation of a law on inter-jurisdictional coordination (the ordinary justice and indigenous justice), it does not yet exist. They also refer to the elimination of prosecution services on indigenous matters. In reply, the Government indicates that permanent dialogue and cooperation mechanisms have been consolidated between State institutions and indigenous authorities with a view to promoting mutual respect between justice systems and ensuring that the indigenous jurisdiction can operate without undue interference.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in the examination of the Basic Act to reform the Basic Code on the functioning of the judiciary, with examples that illustrate how inter-institutional cooperation is ensured in practice between the ordinary justice system and indigenous justice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the elimination of the prosecution services on indigenous matters on the rights set out in Articles 8 and 12 of the Convention.

Article 14. Lands. The Committee notes the adoption of Decision No. 73 of 2017 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Stock-raising, Aquaculture and Fishing, which contains the Manual of administrative procedures and processes in relation to established rural lands and the Basic Act on rural lands and ancestral territories and its General Regulations. In accordance with section 5 of the Regulations, community lands of ancestral possession of communes, communities, peoples and nationalities that self-identify as nationalities with ancestral roots and have complied with ancestral possession for over 50 years shall not be considered rural lands of the State. Indigenous, Montubio and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples may obtain title to their community lands through adjudication free-of charge and under the conditions set out in the Decision. As part of the adjudication process for communities covered by the Convention, a technical report has to be issued by the agrarian authority, which may indicate the existence of potential land disputes that may prevent adjudication. The report may be referred to the Unit for the Legalization of the Lands of Communes, Communities, Peoples and Nationalities with a view to out-of-court conciliation. 

The Committee notes that, according to information from the United Nations Development Programme, three communities belonging to the Shuar de Morona Santiago nationality received ownership title to their ancestral lands in July 2025. The Government adjudicated 2,636 hectares to the Shuar Tunants centre, 3,879 hectares to the Shuar Kampan centre and 2,809 hectares to the Shuar Tsuntsuim centre. These are in addition to the hectares already adjudicated to the Shuar Pumpis (1,753 hectares) and north Tayuntza (7,331 hectares) centres. This makes a total of 18,408 hectares adjudicated in 2024 and 2025 in the Kutukú Shaimi forest (UNPD, Press release. 7 August 2025).

The Committee also notes the indication by the CEOSL and PSI in their observations that the procedure established by Decision No. 73 is bureaucratic as it requires the non-recognition of ancestral possession as a source of law. They also emphasize that communities whose ancestral lands are in protected areas have been subject to overlapping with mining concessions, and that even communities with collective titles have faced new individual fragmented adjudications in respect of the same lands. The absence of safeguards in relation to third parties and of effective mechanisms for complaints and the restitution of lands serve to maintain structural legal insecurity. The Government indicates in this regard that the processes of the regularization, adjudication and distribution of lands have been established in solid respect of the legal framework. It adds that the Subsecretariat of Ancestral Lands and Territories (STRTA) has issued security titles which have legally secured over 5.3 million hectares as communal property, and has developed technical protocols to guarantee the inviolability of collective ownership.

The Committee notes the progress made in the titling of lands for the Shuar indigenous people in the province of Morona Santiago in Amazonia and requests the Government to continue taking the necessary measures to protect the rights of the peoples covered by the Convention to the lands that they traditionally occupy. It requests the Government to provide updated information on this subject indicating the cases in which there have been land disputes and cases which have been resolved out of court, in accordance with Decision No. 73 of 2017.

Articles 20 and 21. Employment and vocational training. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that during the last quarter of 2024, in the context of the Project to Strengthen the Community Economies of Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio Peoples, 11 technical dialogue and consultation groups were established in various provinces in the country. The Government specifies that recommendations were received from the representatives of indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio peoples through this mechanism on ensuring the access and continued attendance of students from these peoples in higher education institutions. According to the data provided by the Government, 2,647 students who have graduated from public institutes and conservatories identify themselves as members of indigenous peoples.

The Committee also notes with interest the adoption of the Technical Standard on the application of the preferential right to employment by the Act on the planning and comprehensive development of the Amazonian territorial zone, which requires establishments operating in Amazonia to ensure that at least 80 per cent of their workforce consists of permanent residents in Amazonia, with a distribution of 60 per cent from the area concerned, 20 per cent from the same province and 20 per cent from the remainder of the area. The Government indicates that this Standard seeks to protect rights and promote specific employment and training activities, and to ensure consultation when administrative measures directly affect indigenous peoples and to ensure their participation and sharing in the benefits of activities relating to natural resources pertaining to their lands.

The Committee notes from the analysis of the situation of the indigenous population in Ecuador, published by the United Nations Population Fund, that the participation rate of the indigenous population in formal jobs is lower, at 27.8 per cent, than the non-indigenous population, for whom the rate is 38 per cent. The Committee also notes the indication by the CEOSL and PSI that the rural population is engaged under precarious conditions of underemployment, unpaid work and informality, as the rate of appropriate employment at the national level is 18.8 per cent in rural areas. They add that the legislation does not contain special measures or differentiated mechanisms for labour inspection in areas of high vulnerability. Nor are employment and social security statistics available that are disaggregated by self-identification, which is an obstacle to the effective assessment of compliance with these rights and the formulation of effective policies. In this regard, the Government emphasizes that Ministerial Decision No. MDT-2023-140 of 14 November 2023 seeks to strengthen labour inspection through focused and comprehensive inspections in all economic activities (including agro-industry and mining), and particularly in priority sectors or groups to combat informality.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted so that the labour inspection services can carry out their activities in areas and sectors in which indigenous peoples are in the majority. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the participation of persons who are members of the peoples protected by the Convention in vocational training programmes that can facilitate their labour market integration. In this regard, it requests the Government, if possible, to provide information on the number of persons who have obtained formal employment following the completion of their vocational training. Finally, it requests the Government to provide information on the number of indigenous persons who have found employment on the basis of the Technical Standard on the application of the preferential right to employment, adopted by the Act on the planning and comprehensive development of the Amazonia territorial zone. 

Articles 24 and 25. Social security and health. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Technical Standard on the protection of the health of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact by the Ministry of Public health in 2017. The Technical Standard sets out operational guidance for actors in the national health system who intervene in the health protection cordon for indigenous peoples in isolation in order to: (i) prevent contact through health measures; (ii) deal with the health effects caused by cases of contact; and (iii) re-establish the health conditions of those peoples within the framework of the family, community and intercultural healthcare model. The Committee further notes the application of the intercultural approach in the “Healthy Municipalities” initiative, in cooperation with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization for the incorporation of the vision of indigenous peoples in the promotion of healthy life styles (PAHO, press release, 16 July 2025). The Committee also notes the detailed statistical data provided by the Government on the distribution of health centres and medical personnel throughout the country and observes that in various cantonal medical dispensaries there are no permanent or itinerant obstetricians. In this regard, it notes that, according to the analysis of the situation of the indigenous population in Ecuador published by the United Nations Population Fund in 2025, the child mortality rate is consistently higher in the indigenous than the non-indigenous population, particularly in rural areas and Amazonia, where it is estimated that there are 17 deaths per 1,000 indigenous children. Similarly, the maternal mortality rate is 1.1 in the general population, but rises to 1.9 in the indigenous population.

With reference to access to social security, the Committee notes the Government’s indication concerning the publication of the Manual on the process of affiliation to the social security in rural areas, which will facilitate the access of new affiliations of members of the peoples covered by the Convention.

The Committee also notes the indication by the CEOSL and PSI in their observations that, although the Rural Social Security Scheme (SSC) is the principal mechanism for the inclusion of rural workers and communities in social security which is not related to them being in dependent employment, there are structural challenges to both its coverage and the quality of the benefits. They add that the SSC is not designed in accordance with criteria of interculturality and that the communities do not participate effectively in the administration or evaluation of the system. In this regard, the Government indicates that specific institutional and budgetary measures have been adopted to improve the coverage, quality and sustainability of the system. The SSC ensures coverage by medical and cash benefits for over 935,551 persons. Between 2023 and 2025, measures were adopted, such as equipping rural dispensaries, the provision of essential medicines to the logistical health network and training for medical personnel on cultural belonging and community care.

The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to strengthen healthcare for members of the peoples protected by the Convention, including measures to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates, and their results. It requests the Government to provide information on the application of the Technical Standard on health protection for indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation or initial contact, with an indication of the peoples that have been covered. It also requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of the rural social security system, including updated statistics on the number of members of indigenous, Afro-descendent and Montubio peoples who are covered and the manner in which these peoples participate in its administration and evaluation.

Articles 26 to 28. Education. The Committee notes the codification of the Basic Act on intercultural education, published in 2024, the objective of which is to standardize the national intercultural education system under the principles of universal access to education, non-discrimination and equality of opportunity, the intercultural approach and plurinationality. In accordance with section 39 of the Act, one of the essential functions of the highest education authorities will be to ensure a transversal intercultural approach with a view to education of cultural and linguistic relevance. The Act also establishes a supervisory body within the National Education Council to observe, supervise and issue recommendations for the efficient implementation of the national education plan, which includes a representative of indigenous peoples, a representative of the Montubio people and a representative of the Afro-Ecuadorian people (section 33). The Government adds that under Executive Decree No. 671 of February 2023 the Secretariat of Intercultural Bilingual Education and ethnic education will operate with territorial, technical and pedagogical, epistemic, administrative and financial autonomy, in coordination with State public education policies, and its competence will include ensuring the development of ancestral knowledge and establishing a language bank for peoples and nationalities. Decision No. MINEDUC-MINEDUC-2025-00003, of January 2025, also adopted the Afro-Ecuadorian Ethnic Education Model (METAFE), the objective of which is to strengthen the quality of Afro-Ecuadorian education at all levels and promote the ancestral wisdom of Afro-descendent people. The Committee further notes that, according to the analysis of the situation of the indigenous population in Ecuador, published by the United Nations Population Programme in 2025, the indigenous population has a higher level of persons without any educational level (13.7 per cent, compared with 6.8 per cent for the non-indigenous population), and this trend is more pronounced for indigenous women, of whom 16.1 per cent are without education, compared with 11.3 per cent of indigenous men.

The CEOSL and PSI indicate that the bilingual intercultural education system continues to be inadequate as, despite the existence of 1,710 institutions, 9,146 teachers and 131,282 students, they only represent 3.1 per cent of the number of children attending school at the national level, while persons self-identifying as indigenous account of 7.7 per cent of the population. This would mean that the majority of indigenous children study in schools in Spanish, without programmes adapted to their cultural and linguistic needs. In this respect, the Government indicates that there are 1,710 bilingual intercultural education institutions, 9,594 teachers and a total of 135,056 students. It emphasizes that the Bilingual Intercultural Education System Model (MOSEIB) is applied, with 14 specific curricula by nationality.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the implementation of the measures indicated by the Government in strengthening the system of bilingual intercultural education, for both indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples, with an indication of the progress achieved and the challenges encountered. It also requests the Government to provide information on the recommendations made by the supervisory body in the National Education Council in relation to the education of the peoples covered by the Convention.