Joint Statement Ecuador: Freezing of bank accounts obstructs UNORCAC’s exercise of collective rights and its defence of human rights

The undersigned organisations strongly condemn the freezing of bank accounts of the Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Cotacachi (Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organisations of Cotacachi) -UNORCAC-, as well as the personal bank accounts of its members, of which they became aware on 29 May. This action not only obstructs UNORCAC’s operations and its work in defending rights, but also restricts the exercise of its members’ collective rights. The undersigned organisations also express deep concern at the repeated use of such practices in Ecuador, particularly against organisations and defenders of indigenous rights.

UNORCAC has a history spanning more than 50 years and represents 48 community councils and various organised groups in the canton of Cotacachi. The freezing of its accounts has a broad impact on its overall functioning, going beyond just financial assets; it also affects its ability to carry out activities promoting collective rights, food sovereignty for indigenous peoples, the defence of cultural identity, environmental protection and the strengthening of the community’s social fabric. It also has a direct impact on the fulfilment of its tax, labour and contractual obligations, which risks the sustainability and continuity of its projects to protect communities. Furthermore, it also risks the humanitarian and protection support provided by UNORCAC to at least 18 individuals, and their families, who were seriously injured by the excessive use of force by state agents during the protests of September and October 2025.

Currently, five bank accounts belonging to the organisation and its members are subject to freezing orders. UNORCAC was informed of this measure informally; it was implemented without prior notice, sufficient justification or access to supporting information. This administrative order was subsequently upheld by the courts; however, the organisation has faced difficulties in accessing the case file, despite multiple requests to government bodies, including the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE). Requests have been met with responses citing the confidential nature of the information; in addition, the relevant procedures are being carried out in Quito, requiring its members to undertake arduous journeys to the capital city. It was only by taking the matter to the courts that UNORCAC obtained partial access to information. It is particularly alarming that the reason for the blocking is based on intelligence reports that remain inaccessible, and that attempts are being made to link UNORCAC to alleged financial crimes in a context of criminalisation targeting indigenous organisations and human rights defenders following the 2025 protests.

UNORCAC is one of the organisations affected by this context and has been facing a concerning process of persecution and criminalisation. At least 30 members of the organisation are currently facing criminal proceedings for their participation in the national protests of 2025. In response to this situation, the organisation has sought legal recognition of its collective rights, particularly the right to exercise indigenous jurisdiction, as an alternative and priority route prior to the application of criminal law. Due to the State Attorney General’s Office’s repeated refusal to recognise these rights, criminalising members of the organisation and even demanding that their applications be submitted solely through a lawyer, UNORCAC brought an action for protection against the State Attorney General’s Office. On 12 June 2026, a judge from the Ibarra Judicial Unit ruled in their favour, recognising that the Attorney General’s Office must respect the exercise of indigenous jurisdiction and indigenous law prior to the State initiating criminal proceedings. Although the initial ruling was in UNORCAC’s favour, the Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed against it, and criminal proceedings in the conventional justice system through the ordinary channels are continuing, deepening the legal uncertainty faced by the organisation and affecting the indigenous communities and peoples it represents. In this context of persecution and criminalisation, the freezing of UNORCAC’s bank accounts also impacts and limits its ability to sustain defence efforts, provide legal support and ensure due process in these cases before the ordinary courts.

Since the protests of 2025, the freezing of bank accounts and the subsequent criminal proceedings have become a recurring pattern of action taken by the Ecuadorian authorities against human rights defenders, community leaders, organisations and social movements, affecting their livelihoods and the exercise of their rights. As the case of UNORCAC, these proceedings are characterised by a lack of timely notification, a lack of transparency regarding access to key information, and a lack of clarity, thereby violating due process. These measures have a clear intimidating effect on those who defend human rights, nature and the rights of indigenous peoples in Ecuador.

Civic space in Ecuador is increasingly restricted by laws and practices that limit civil society participation, such as the unjustified use of the concept of ‘internal armed conflict’ to criminalise protests, intelligence surveillance without judicial guarantees, and the persecution of those who defend human rights, nature and the rights of indigenous peoples. Added to this is the freezing of bank accounts, which comes on top of other administrative and criminal measures aimed at weakening and silencing organisations working to defend rights and protect territories.

The undersigned organisations express our deepest concern regarding the freezing of bank accounts and the repeated persecution to which UNORCAC is subjected, which affects the organisation’s ability to carry out its work and defend the human rights of the indigenous and peasant communities it represents.

In light of the above, we also urge the Ecuadorian authorities to:

1. Lift the freeze on the bank accounts of UNORCAC and its members, as well as those of other affected partner organisations;
2. Ensure a review of the judicial measure with the participation of those affected, to enable its evaluation and to allow the use of funds for medical care, humanitarian support and the fulfilment of UNORCAC’s labour obligations and other responsibilities;
3. Guarantee that UNORCAC has sufficient access to the information necessary to exercise its right of defense, ensuring that classification as confidential information or financial intelligence does not limit or obstruct this right;
4. Cease the use of administrative, financial and criminal mechanisms as ways of criminalising social protest and the defence of human, collective and environmental rights, while also guaranteeing respect for indigenous jurisdiction, legal pluralism and the organisational autonomy of indigenous peoples.

SIGNED BY:

• CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
• Front Line Defenders
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
• World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
• World Rainforest Movement (WRM)