At Work Around the World

Ecuador

Building Hope

Malnutrition, unsanitary environments, and poor housing situations are reality for more than half of all Ecuadorians. Despite the abundance of oil reserves in the nation, government corruption has prevented much of the wealth generated from these resources from reaching the public. A debilitating disease called onchocerciasis contributes to the many obstacles Ecuadorians living in poverty face. The Carter Center, working through the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas, has been working in Ecuador since 1996. As a result of disease prevention efforts, more and more people are able to live without the threat of one day permanently losing their sight. After years of contribution to these efforts, the Center was also invited in 1998 to assist Ecuador as it struggled to eliminate government corruption.
 

During 2007, The Carter Center was invited by the government of Rafael Correa to participate in several efforts.  The Center opened a field office in August 2007 and worked intensively to observe the electoral process leading up to Ecuador's Constituent Assembly elections that were held on Sept. 30, 2007.

Carter Center initiatives in the country in 2007–2008 include supporting an inclusive and informed Constituent Assembly process, facilitating track 1.5 dialogue between influential individuals from Ecuador and Colombia to improve Ecuador–Colombia relations, and implementing a peace and conflict analysis in two communities of the Ecuadorian northern border in partnership with the U.N. Development Program and Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, a local NGO.

Waging Peace

Carter Center Peace programs contact information in Ecuador:

Francisco Diez, Carter Center Peace Representative in Latin America

Phone: 54-911- 5932-2922

E-mail:  diez.centrocarter@gmail.com

Monitoring Elections

In response to an invitation by the Supreme Electoral Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) of Ecuador, The Carter Center fielded an electoral observation mission during the constituent assembly election held on Sept. 30, 2007. During the campaign, Carter Center representatives met with the president and vice-president of the Republic, the president of congress, dignitaries of the national and provincial governments, political leaders and candidates, members of civil society, and the media. According to reports from Carter Center observers, who worked in close collaboration with the missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU), on Sept. 30, despite some procedural problems, Ecuadorians turned out to vote in a peaceful, orderly, and legitimate election.

The Carter Center congratulated the Ecuadorian people for their civic commitment and particularly recognized the role of the mostly young poll workers, whose creativity, honesty, and close attention to the law made the election successful, despite the complexity of the vote count. The Carter Center also expressed particular recognition to the authorities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for allowing observers unrestricted access to the information during the electoral process and for considering the Carter Center's suggestions.

As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said in a message to the new Constituent Assembly, constituent assembly members now have a great responsibility to define a legal-political structure that will allow a new institutional stability to take shape, to further develop representative democracy, to guarantee the rule of law and the independence of  branches of government and accountability mechanisms, and to protect the fundamental rights of Ecuadorians. The Carter Center will support the assembly in meeting those challenges through close analysis, training in consensus-building techniques, and providing technical assistance in areas such as electoral processes and systems, governability, and human rights.

Mediating Conflict

The Carter Center has been developing initiatives to improve relations between Ecuador and Colombia and partnered with UNDP to encourage dialogue between influential citizens in both countries. 

Additionally, The Carter Center, with the support of UNDP and in collaboration with two local partners (Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano and Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio), is conducting an analysis of peace and conflict in two cities of the Ecuadorian Northern Border.  The Carter Center hopes this analysis will be helpful for the determination of public policies on development in the northern border zone.  

To read more about the Carter Center's work in the northern border, click here.

Building a Model for Transparency

In 1998, with a trip by former President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalynn, and Americas Program Director Dr. Jennifer McCoy, The Carter Center launched a project to help the government combat corruption in Ecuador and to develop partnerships between the political and social sectors.  At the time, Ecuador was ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in Latin America, according to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, and partisanship had slowed development. The Center's Americas Program and Conflict Resolution Program began a project in spring 2000 to identify the issues dividing the country and bring national leaders together to discuss them. The issues included modernization of the state, fiscal decentralization via an autonomy law, and continuing corruption in the government and private sector. In late 2000, the Center worked with the political elites and experts to seek common ground on these issues.


Urging a Moratorium on Arms Sales

Although Latin America spends relatively less on defense than most other regions, expenditures on expensive weapons systems divert scarce foreign exchange from more effective investments, including education. They also compel neighbors to spend more on defense and, by doing so, generate international tensions. Concerned about an arms race in Latin America, the Carter Center's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas urged governments in the region to pause before embarking on major arms purchases. Between April 1997 and March 1998, 28 current heads of government and 14 former heads of government signed a written pledge to accept a moratorium of two years on purchasing sophisticated weapons. Among the signatories were then Ecuador President Fabián Alarcón Rivera and former President Osvaldo Hurtado.

Learn more about the Carter Center's Americas Program.

Fighting Disease

Regional Eradication of River Blindness in the Americas

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a debilitating disease spread by the bite of black flies. It causes blindness and severe skin disease in an estimated 17.7 million people worldwide. Of these cases, 500,000 are in Latin America.

Ecuadorian communities bordering the Cayapas, Santiago, and Onzole rivers in the northern Esmeralda province are onchocerciasis endemic and represent approximately 5 percent of the at-risk community in the Americas. Today, more than 25,000 Ecuadorians will need treatment twice each year to prevent the onset of disease.

Thanks to the combined efforts of The Carter Center and Ecuador's national elimination program, the number of administered treatments for onchocerciasis in the nation has increased from more than 14,724 in 1996 to approximately 41,391 as reported in 2006, reaching 99 percent of the eligible population. Of great importance to Ecuador's success has been the integration of onchocerciasis treatment into national health care services.

In the last two years, Ecuador's Ministry of Health has increased significantly financial support to the program. However, onchocerciasis control is still not fully secured in the Ministry of Health's budget. Thus, increased financial assistance may be needed for continued programmatic success.

To learn more about the Center's work fighting river blindness click here.

Reports and Statements

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 12 in Spanish or English
This bi-weekly Carter Center report on the Ecuadorian Constitutional Assembly aims to inform the international community about the discussions, processes, and decisions of the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador; its relationship with society and the state, and analyze the assembly's main proposals.

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 11 in Spanish or English
This bi-weekly Carter Center report on the Ecuadorian Constitutional Assembly aims to inform the international community about the discussions, processes, and decisions of the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador; its relationship with society and the state, and analyze the assembly's main proposals.

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 10 in Spanish or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 9 in Spanish or English

Quarterly Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador in Spanishor English
This Quarterly report complements the four bi-monthly reports that The Carter Center  has produced  on the constituent process taking place in Ecuador from March and April 2008. On one hand, this document synthetically reviews the information already covered in the bi-monthly reports and, on the other, deepens the focus on some aspects that were not developed in those reports. It aims to inform the international community about the discussions, processes, and decisions of the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador; its relationship with society and the state, and analyze the assembly's main proposals. 

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 8 in Spanish or English

15 April 2008/15 de abril de 2008
Declaration on Ecuador-Colombia Relations/Declaración sobre las Relaciones Ecuador – Colombia   (English and Spanish)
Statement issued by The Carter Center clarifying press communiqués issued in recent days by the governments of Ecuador and Colombia.

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 7 in Spanish or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 6 in Spanish  or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No.5 in Spanish or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 4 in Spanish or English

Quarterly Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador in Spanish or English
This Quarterly report complements the first four bi-monthly reports that The Carter Center  has produced  on the constituent process taking place in Ecuador. On one hand, this document synthetically reviews the information already covered in the bi-monthly reports and, on the other, deepens the focus on some aspects that were not developed in those reports. It aims to inform the international community about the discussions, processes, and decisions of the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador; its relationship with society and the state, and analyze the assembly's main proposals.


Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador - No. 3 in Spanish or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador - No. 2 in Spanish or English

Report on the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Ecuador  - No. 1 in Spanish or English
 

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Message for the Inauguration of Ecuador's New Constituent Assembly
Almost 30 years ago, when I assumed the presidency of my country and military dictatorships extended throughout Latin America, Ecuador inaugurated a wave of democratization that continues today. Human rights began to be restored as fundamental values, and slowly the countries of Latin America established democratic regimes.


Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Sends Congratulatory Message to Ecuador's New Constituent Assembly
In a message to Ecuador's newly inaugurated Constituent Assembly, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter urged the constituents to use human rights as a basis for drafting a new constitution and encouraged them to seek a harmonious solution on the definition and implementation of their role in transforming the state's institutions.

Final Report: Observing the Sept. 30, 2007, Ecuador Constituent Assembly Elections
The final report of The Carter Center on the 2007 constituent assembly elections in Ecuador.

Carter Center Observes Democratic Consolidation in Ecuador 
Yesterday, Sept. 30, the Ecuadorian people demonstrated their profound democratic vocation by voting peacefully for representatives to the constituent assembly.

Carter Center Pleased with Ecuador's Electoral Process, Urges Equality of Official Electoral Publicity
Since July 2007, The Carter Center has worked intensively to observe the electoral processes leading up to Ecuador's Constituent Assembly elections. This statement presents the continued findings of the Center's international election observation mission in Ecuador. 

Carter Center to Observe Constituent Assembly Elections in Ecuador
In response to an invitation by the Supreme Electoral Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) of Ecuador, The Carter Center will field an electoral observation mission during the constituent assembly election to be held Sept. 30, 2007. The Carter Center also announces the opening of a field office in the city of Quito.