Ecuador Under Scrutiny for Response to Enforced Disappearances.

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Recently, international institutions have assessed Ecuador’s response to enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by national armed forces. The main case under review, which took place in 2024 and sparked global condemnation, has recently been brought before the courts and addressed by international authorities.

Between 10 and 12 March 2026, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva evaluated Ecuador’s progresses and seatbacks in investigating, prosecuting, and eventually condemning cases of enforced disappearances committed by authorities in December 2024. Paulo De Tarso Vannuchi, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, praised the South American state’s response, highlighting its capacity to address such cases. However, the Committee, alongside other international institutions such as Amnesty International, reiterated the importance of demilitarizing President Daniel Noboa’s security policy to prevent further human rights violations.

The main case analyzed dates back to December 2024. During Ecuador's state of exception  due to internal armed conflict, four Afro-Ecuadorian teenagers, namely Joscé and Ismael Arroyo, Steven Medina, and Nehemías Arboleda, were detained by military forces. According to witnesses, they were placed in a military pickup truck in southern Guayaquil. A few days later, the burned remains of the four boys, showing evidence of torture and physical abuse, were discovered in a mangrove forest. One year later, in December 2025,a court issued a historic ruling, sentencing eleven military officers to 34 years and eight months in prison. Additional reparations included a public apology and a memorial service at the Taura Air Base. 

Despite the progress made by the Ecuadorian government, a report published at the end of 2025 by Amnesty international showed that the militarization of public security in Ecuador has facilitated enforced disappearances by the Armed Forces, undermining its intended purpose. “Enforced disappearances are multiplying in Ecuador while the government insists on a militarized strategy that not only has not reduced crimes, but has increased human rights violations. President Noboa must urgently reverse this approach and ensure that the Armed Forces fully cooperate with the investigations”, said Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International. For instance, between 2023, when President Noboa began his first term, and 2025, 43 people reportedly forcibly disappeared.

The international community is now pressuring Ecuador to adopt policies that would drastically reverse the current situation. Amnesty International has issued a series of recommendations, including ensuring that those responsible for disappearances are brought to justice through prompt and impartial investigations, while protecting victims and involving their families. In addition, the NGO stressed the importance of ending abusive militarized security practices and fully committing to international justice by supporting and enforcing the Ljubljana–Hague Convention.

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, added that “This is a crucial opportunity to inform the international community that the armed forces have committed enforced disappearances under the Noboa administration, and that the victims’ families continue to demand truth, justice and reparation. Now more than ever, we must heed their demands.”

written by Ludovica Muncibì