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2007 Assessment

Ecuador: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Ecuador: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	75
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments: Article 23, No. 19 from the National Constitution of Ecuador establishes "la libertad de asociación y de reunión, con fines pacíficos," this is set forth like one of the civil rights. The law established in the Constitution does not put emphasis on civil associations, whose goal is to focus on corruption or good government. Additionally, the constitutional mandate gives freedom of association to all citizens (national or foreigners) to gather with peaceful ends. These organizations must respect the Ordaining of the Law.

In agreement with what has been mentioned in the previous paragraph, Article 29 from "Ley de Partidos Politicos" establishes that parties are free to diffuse their doctrine and programs, as well as to act in order to strengthen their organization. According to Article 8, these parties must not discriminate by motives of race, sex, religious creed, culture or social condition.

Article 178 of the Penal Code (Código Penal) establishes that if freedom of thought or expression or violated this can be punished with prison for one to five years.

References: National Constitution of Ecuador: Articles 8, 23, 29 Penal Code: Article 178

Peer Review Comments: A new constitution is being drafted, and many new laws will follow. Thus, the current situation could change.

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: The National Constitution of Ecuador establishes the "Libertad de Empresa".

Article 23 No.19 of the National Constitution does not prohibit funding from legal enterprises (foreign or domestic), and according to a legal principle what the law does not prohibit, it permits. The government, including all its public institutions, are not allowed to finance Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

References: National Constitution of Ecuador: Article 23 No.16 and No.19

Peer Review Comments: A new constitution s being drafted, and many new laws will follow. In my opinion, the current situation is likely to change due to the prevalence of an extreme degree of nationalism that may reject foreign funding.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: The first regulation establishes that the foundations or corporations that account for their own resources will be supervised by the General Comptroller of the State (CGE --Contraloría General del Estado).

If the CSO has a social function, for example, the CGE has to supervise their sources of income.

References: Official Register No. 6610 2002/09/11 (Title XXIX of the book "I Código Civil"). Article 31, No.1 The Statutory Law of the General Comptroller of the State. Regulations to the Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information.

Peer Review Comments: The Comptroller General's Office is overburdened with non-auditing duties and has lost ts professional capability to perform audits. The Office's usefulness in this area is questionable and its reviews are quite selective.

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments: The government does not create barriers to the organization of new CSOs. Recently, CSOs have increased their participation in the public life. CSOs, however, are subject to the same rules of creation as other new organizations.

References: Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana) www.participacionciudadana.org

Peer Review Comments: Formation of CSOs requires much time and effort, as well as bureaucratic approval.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Citizen Participation (PC--Participacion Ciudadana) is a CSO that promotes democratic leadership and transparency in public activities and the political processes. It participates as observer in the electoral processes,ratifying the official results. When it disagrees with actions of Electoral Supreme Tribunal (TSE), it publicizes this through a communications bulletin. It supervises the actions carried out by the National Congress, identifying each candidate's, so that the citizens are informed and can form their own opinions.

PC is viewed favorably by the public because of the impartiality of its opinions with regard to the electoral process. It has also become an important political actor . According to the report of Audit of the Democracy Ecuador in the 2006, PC is more trusted by citizens than the Electoral Supreme Tribunal. CSOs have said that they have been able to observe citizen participation in the local governments. Mainly in the Alternative Municipalities, there are work groups that are formed by citizens. The work groups help to create social polities or projects and participate in the policymaking process. Local governments where there have been successful experiences in citizen participation are: Cotacachi, Cuenca, Guamote, Orellana and Otavalo. .

References: Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana) www.participacionciudadana.org

Municipio de Cotacachi www.cotacachi.gov.ec,

Informe Ecuador Seguimiento de la sociedad civil a la Implementación del Plan de Acción de Québec elaborado por la (CLD) Corporación Latinoamericana de Desarrollo. Auditoria de la Democracia Ecuador en el 2006 elaborado por (USAID) del Pueblo de los Estados Unidos, (LAPOP) Proyecto de Opinión

Peer Review Comments: The emergence of civil society organizations like Participación Ciudadana is extremely important for the development of accountability in Ecuador's elections, particularly since the political parties have become so mistrusted.

Peer Review Comments: PC is not a general anti-corruption CSO. It is only concerned with elections. Some other CSOs are active in opposing corruption, but none does so with full-time dedication and on an exclusive basis. There is a vacuum in this area.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There were no reported cases.

References: Media (newspapers, broadcast media)

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There were no reported cases.

References: Media (newspapers, broadcast media)

Peer Review Comments: However, the former vice chair and the former executive director of the Civic Corruption Control Commission (CCCC), whose work for the Banking Deposit Guarantee Agency was concerned with banking scandals, were sentenced to eight years in prison and are presently in exile. They allege they were persecuted by wealthy banking interests for doing their duty. The past four chief executives of the Banking Deposit Guarantee Agency have similarly been pursued by legal accusations.

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There were no reported cases.

References: Media (newspapers, broadcast media)

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There were no reported cases.

References: Media (newspapers, broadcast media)

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments: Article 23 No. 19 of the National Constitution recognizes the civil right of groups to congregate for peaceful purposes.

Article 440 from Código del Trabajo (Code of Work) recognizes the freedom of association for workers and employers, without any distinction and without need of prior authorization. They have the right to organize professional associations or unions that they consider to be convenient, to be affiliated to them or to be withdrawn, but in keeping with the laws and statutes of their respective associations.

Article 1 of Agreement 98 Relative to the Right of Trade Unions, establishes that workers should enjoy adequate protection against any act of discrimination attempting to diminish their union freedoms, in relation to their employment.

References: National Constitution of Ecuador: Article 23 No. 19 Code of Work: Article 440 Article 1 of Agreement 98 Relative to the Right of Trade Unions, Official Registry No. 923, 1959/09/19.

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: There are four influential trade unions In Ecuador, which call themselves: the United Workers Front (FUT--Frente Unitario de Trabajadores), Ecuadorian Federation of Classist Organizations (CEDOC--Central Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones Clasistas), Ecuadorian Confederation of Free Union Organizations (CEOSL--Confederación Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres)and the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers(CTE--Confederación de Trabajadores Ecuatorianos). They include other smaller trade unions.

The right of the workers of carrying out strikes is in the work law. The trade unions are against the (FTA) Free Trade Agreement. For this reason, they gathered together to strike during Alfredo Palacios government.

References: [ LINK ] [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Whereas trade unions are indeed an important part of the political process and the political discourse, an important percentage of workers in Ecuador are being hired by outsourcing companies. These workers are not protected by all of the workers' rights.