Ecuador: Authorities must seriously address situations of violence, without encouraging xenophobia

In response to recent statements by the government of President Lenin Moreno on the imposition of entry restrictions for Venezuelan people, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director of Amnesty International, said:

“President Lenín’s government has the responsibility to protect people’s rights to seek asylum and international protection, as well as to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence committed against people within its territory, without discrimination based on their nationality or other factors.”

“In the face of serious cases of gender violence and recent femicides, the Ecuadorian authorities have the obligation to protect women and girls, investigate all these crimes, punish those responsible, and implement policies to prevent these forms of violence. Violence against women and girls is not a matter of nationality or migratory flows, but the result of a culture that permits this violence and of the historical failure of states to develop comprehensive responses.”

These tragic events should not encourage xenophobic attacks, nor the imposition of additional restrictions that put a population in need of international protection in Ecuador and throughout the region at greater risk, as is the case with Venezuelan people

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director of Amnesty International

“These tragic events should not encourage xenophobic attacks, nor the imposition of additional restrictions that put a population in need of international protection in Ecuador and throughout the region at greater risk, as is the case with Venezuelan people fleeing their country because of massive human rights violations.”

“Amnesty International calls on President Lenin Moreno to refrain from imposing entry restrictions on people in need of international protection, while at the same time strengthening the state’s efforts to address the endemic violence against women in the country, along with other acts of violence against vulnerable sectors of the population.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Amnesty International press office: [email protected]