Quito:

The members of the Legislative Administrative Council met on Tuesday, 29 January 2019 to evaluate several bills. As a result, it was decided that the draft amendment to the Organic Law of the Ombudsman, authored by Ms. Soledad Buendía, member of the National Assembly and Chair of PGA’s National Group in Ecuador, will be analyzed by the Comission on Education.

The specific reforms proposed in the draft intend to effectively establish the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Genocide within the scope of competence of the Ombudsman, as an inter-institutional structure designed to  bring forward public policies addressing the issue, promote cooperation, and provide technical assistance at the national, regional, and international level.

The ultimate aim is to promote the fundamental rights of the people; the adoption of peaceful and alternative forms of conflict resolution; the protection of people in a situation of vulnerability; the fight against impunity through judicial action in national and international courts; the construction of spaces to keep the collective memory alive and raise awareness among the civilian population and state organizations; the collection of information to establish a system of early warnings; and the preparation of reports, recommendations, and petitions addressed to the competent authorities.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador makes reference to the idea of prevention, protection and promotion of our fundamental rights by indicating that “we must form a society that respects the dignity of people and communities in all its dimensions”. To this purpose, Ms. Soledad Buendía introduced the aforementioned bill with the aim of guaranteeing the human right to freedom and security of person and the constitutional right to a culture of peace; and providing the State with mechanisms to prevent the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.