Ecuador under UN review over allegations of enforced disappearances

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances examined the situation in the Latin American country in Geneva, while human rights organizations warn of the risk of new violations under the Noboa government's security policy.

Last week, a new session of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Between March 10 and 12, a group of experts assessed the progress made and the challenges Ecuador faces in preventing, investigating and punishing enforced disappearances.

Amnesty International stated that these crimes remain unpunished, and could be repeated, as long as Daniel Noboa's militarized security policy remains in place. They also added that the military has committed enforced disappearances and that the victims' families continue to demand truth, justice and reparation.

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation by States of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Working jointly with other civil society organizations and state institutions, it seeks to eradicate, punish and prevent this crime and to redress the harm suffered by the victims.

A historic ruling in Ecuador

In December 2025, a court sentenced eleven members of the military to 34 years and eight months in prison for the enforced disappearance of four young Afro-descendants from the “Las Malvinas” neighborhood in Guayaquil, while five others received reduced sentences of 30 months after cooperating with the investigation. A lieutenant colonel charged as an accomplice, meanwhile, was acquitted.

The ruling also emphasized reparation measures such as public apologies and an act of amends at the Taura Air Base. The judgment was officially published on February 24, 2026, and immediately appealed by two of those convicted. A ruling by the Constitutional Court that could strengthen the framework for comprehensive reparation for the victims and their families is still pending.

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said that although this ruling is an enormous step toward truth, justice and reparation for the victims, the search and criminal investigation of all reports of enforced disappearance must urgently continue, and that for this “the full cooperation of the Armed Forces is indispensable.”

The Armed Forces appear before the Committee

On March 12, the delegation led by the legal adviser to Ecuador's Ministry of Defense, Leonardo Alvear, appeared before the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances and stated that the Armed Forces are planning several changes to the training of military personnel.

Alvear said that the Ecuadorian military is open “to being part of this system of scrutiny among you in order to obtain optimal results for the future.” He also added that the so-called “esprit de corps,” wrongly named as such, does not exist, since the Armed Forces have allowed the ordinary courts to judge what they have done.

In the Armed and Security Forces, “esprit de corps” is defined as the bond of loyalty and shared pride among peers. Recently in Ecuador, however, the concept has been debated because of the use of a “false esprit de corps” to cover up crimes or irregularities within institutions

Another member of the Ecuadorian military delegation, Víctor Allauca, stated that the Armed Forces were facing up to global scrutiny and that this was a sign of transparency. 

However, some of those attending the Committee's sessions in Switzerland were astonished that Ecuador's delegation was represented by two uniformed military officers from the Ministry of Defense, and noted that they had never seen anything like it, not even with countries at war such as Russia or Ukraine.

Countries' representatives are always civilian officials from state agencies, foreign ministries or embassies, as well as attorneys general or prosecutors. What caught the Committee's attention was that the delegation was headed by the Armed Forces, which were moreover under scrutiny by the Committee itself during last week's sessions. 

The CED experts expressed concern over complaints received about rights violations during the Ecuadorian State's fight against organized crime. They also warned about the repeated use of states of emergency and the involvement of the Armed Forces in internal security.

Along these lines, Carmen Villa Quintana, the Committee's rapporteur, raised several questions about the curfew announced by Daniel Noboa's government for March 15 to 30, 2026, in four provinces, and asked for clarification on the safeguards adopted to prevent abuses.

The Committee also said it had observed a “worrying pattern” of detentions without immediate notification to families, without written records, with non-transparent transfers and without access to legal counsel. The CED called on the Noboa government to
comply with Ecuadorian law while taking into account international human rights obligations, and to establish effective accountability mechanisms.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia