UN Experts Condemn Ecuador’s Closure of Women’s Ministry, Warn Move Undermines Human Rights and Gender Equality

They urged Ecuador to immediately reinstate an autonomous, adequately resourced institution dedicated to women’s rights and gender equality.

 

United Nations human rights experts have strongly criticized Ecuador’s decision to dissolve the Ministry of Women and Human Rights and merge its functions into the Ministry of Government, calling the move a serious reversal of progress in the protection of women’s rights and gender equality.

The Ministry, established following Ecuador’s Universal Periodic Review in 2022, was responsible for advancing major national strategies, including prevention of gender-based violence, ensuring access to justice for survivors, promoting women’s political participation, economic empowerment, and implementing safeguards for vulnerable groups such as Indigenous and Afro-descendant women.

Experts said the Ministry’s dismantling through Executive Decree No. 60 issued on 24 July 2025 has dismantled specialized units, technical expertise, and support networks that are vital for coordinated national response.

“The elimination of the Ministry weakens Ecuador’s capacity to protect women and girls from violence and discrimination and erases institutional visibility for a deeply rooted human rights issue,” the experts warned.

Their concerns come amid rising levels of violence targeting women in Ecuador. Official data shows:

• 65% of women have experienced some form of violence

• Violence rates reach 71.8% among Afro-descendant women

• 332 femicides were recorded in 2022

• A woman is killed approximately every 26 hours, mostly by intimate partners or family members

UN experts stressed that the government’s action violates international obligations under frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Belém do Pará Convention, which mandate states to strengthen—not weaken—institutions addressing gender violence.

They urged Ecuador to immediately reinstate an autonomous, adequately resourced institution dedicated to women’s rights and gender equality.

“This decision leaves survivors of abuse without adequate protection and signals a troubling regression at a time when gender-based violence is reaching alarming levels,” the statement added. “The global community is watching closely.”

Human rights advocacy groups, civil society organizations, and women’s rights defenders in Ecuador have echoed similar concerns and are calling for the decree to be reversed before irreversible damage is done to national gender equality and safety initiatives.