Concluding Observations: Ecuador, Committee against Torture

The Center submitted a shadow letter on Ecuador before the Committee against Torture in October 2010.  This letter underlines the human rights violations incurred due to pervasive sexual violence against girls in schools in Ecuador, urges the government to take action to prevent this violence from happening and to provide remedies, legal and otherwise, if it does, and highlights the adverse impact that insufficient access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services has on adolescent survivors of sexual violence in schools.  Among other things, this letter highlights the Center’s case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Paola Guzman v. Ecuador.

The Committee against Torture heavily considered the Center’s shadow letter in its review of Ecuador.  The concluding observations issued by the Committee refer to Paola Guzman v. Ecuador and, among other things, urge the government of Ecuador to work to prevent sexual abuse against minors in schools and eradicate the climate that abets it, to develop legal mechanisms and processes through which to properly investigate and punish such acts, and to guarantee access to appropriate medical assistance and information for victims of sexual abuse and violence.

To read what the Committee had to say in full, download the concluding observations below.