GENEVA - A group of human rights experts* today announced that their visit to Ecuador, due to take place from 4 to 14 November 2025, has been cancelled after the Government requested to reschedule it for the second half of 2026.
"The recent protests across the country reflect deep-rooted concerns about land and water rights, environmental degradation, and relate to increased cost of living and growing insecurity and violence," said the UN Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
"A country visit at this moment would have allowed us to work collaboratively with the Government to identify human rights solutions to these pressing issues."
The experts noted that the visit would have been a timely and valuable opportunity for constructive engagement with the Government and communities on advancing the rights of peasants and rural workers in Ecuador.
"The country visit would have provided an important platform to identify human rights-based approaches to the pressing challenges currently faced by peasant and Indigenous communities in Ecuador," the Working Group said. "In light of the recent protests and the government's response to them, this dialogue would have been particularly relevant to discuss ways to address underlying grievances and strengthen trust between communities and institutions."
The experts reiterated that Ecuador's progressive recognition of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) offers a concrete and principled roadmap for addressing the structural inequalities and injustices affecting peasant communities, Indigenous Peoples, small scale fishers and rural workers.
"We remain convinced that implementing UNDROP can help guide policies to ensure food sovereignty, environmental protection, and social justice," the Working Group said, expressing readiness to support and cooperate with Ecuadorian authorities in the promotion of the rights of peasants and rural workers in the country.
