Quito, 10 October 2025. Protests arose due to public discontent with the state of insecurity, the economic crisis, and the State’s failure to respond to legitimate social demands. The State’s reaction has been remarkably repressive. Armed forces and police convoys were deployed in reaction to the demonstrations. One of the convoys left Quito for Imbabura on 28 September and was comprised of 100 vehicles. It was led by the Ministers of the Interior and of Defence. The armed forces were deployed to maintain public order—a task that does not normally fall within their mandate, in what amounted to a disproportionate show of force where firearms were used.
According to the Alliance for Human Rights that has been monitoring the situation, to date there have been 252 human rights violations, 124 people injured, and one person killed during the state repression. Official figures claim that 111 people have been detained, but the Alliance has documented 101 arbitrary detentions and at least 12 people who suffered short-term enforced disappearance, among them a person with a physical disability. In Cotacachi, Otavalo, and La Esperanza, there have been reports of internet and telephone connections being cut off, a form of censorship that prevents protesters, communicators, and human rights defenders from communicating and reporting violations. Additionally, mass arrests, judicial proceedings without due process, disinformation, the freezing of bank accounts, the criminalisation of persons working with the justice system, defenders, and journalists, and summary deportations have been documented.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed alarm at the escalation of violence in Ecuador and has made an urgent call for dialogue between the State and the sectors protesting, emphasising the need to guarantee the protection of the human rights and the lives of everyone involved. The OHCHR also recalled that the State has the obligation to investigate the unlawful use of force and that the military forces are not trained to preserve public peace.
Peaceful protest is a fundamental right, closely linked to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and public participation. States have an obligation to respect, protect, and guarantee the exercise of the right to protest, this includes ensuring safe conditions for protests, facilitating online calls to action, and protecting the work of journalists and human rights defenders. The use of force is only legitimate if it complies with the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality (limiting its use to what is strictly necessary and proportionate to the risk). Furthermore, the participation of the armed forces in maintaining public order contradicts international norms and increases the risk of serious violations.
For all of the reasons above, the undersigned organisations call on the Ecuadorian State to immediately cease the disproportionate use of force, safeguard peaceful protest, and open channels for genuine dialogue with protesters. We also call on the international community, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations, to condemn the acts of repression, request official information, and conduct field visits to ascertain the scale of human rights violations.