E/CN.4/2002/94/Add.1 page 11 23. On 29 May 2001 the two countries signed an agreement relating to the regulation and management of migratory flows which lays down rules for the acquisition of legal status, the regulation of migratory flows in an ordered and coordinated manner, respect for the rights of migrants, and promotion of opportunities to return with dignity. The Foreign Ministry pointed out that negotiations have also been initiated with Italy. In this context, the Ministry of Labour emphasized to the Special Rapporteur the importance of ILO Convention No. 97 concerning Migration for Employment (Revised 1949) and the role that the Ministry should play in the preparation of conventions for the regulation and management of migratory flows with host countries (such as Spain), in coordination with the Foreign Ministry. 24. The agreement on permanent migratory status between Colombia and Ecuador, which was concluded in August 2000, lays down that nationals of the two countries may enter either country without a visa for 180 days each year, the sole requirement being the presentation of a national identity document. The two countries have granted migrants the same rights, guarantees and civil obligations as their nationals. III. THE CONTEXT OF EMIGRATION FROM ECUADOR 25. Ecuador has a population estimated at 12,646,095.6 The Foreign Ministry informed the Special Rapporteur7 that in 1999 the rate of unemployment was an unprecedented 14.4 per cent. The number of households in which consumption stood below the poverty line rose from 34 per cent in 1995 to 48 per cent in 1998 and 56 per cent in 1999. Between 1995 and 1999 the incidence of destitution grew from 12 per cent to 21 per cent in the country as a whole, so that one in five Ecuadorians now live in households which cannot even feed themselves. These factors, taken together with the foreign debt burden, are the cause of emigration by Ecuadorians, in the view of the Foreign Ministry. The Congress’s Commission on Indigenous Affairs reported that the country’s per capita debt is currently the highest in Latin America and that 9 out of every 10 members of the indigenous population are poor. The Special Rapporteur was concerned to receive information from representatives of civil society indicating that there is a discrepancy between the country’s legal framework (which guarantees economic, social and cultural rights) and actual practice. The Alternative Report on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights8 records that most Ecuadorians are unable to fully exercise and enjoy their human rights (education, health, work, housing, food and social security). 26. Statistics prepared by the office of the National Director for Migration show that in 2001,9 more Ecuadorians left the country than entered it - 393,563 against 288,610. There are serious difficulties involved in estimating the total number of Ecuadorians abroad because of the large flows of illegal migration. However, the Special Rapporteur noted from the information she received that a rough total of 1.8 million Ecuadorians are possibly abroad, equivalent to almost 15 per cent of the population of the country. 27. The phenomenon known as coyotaje or (in official United Nations terminology) the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air places Ecuadorians who leave the country in a situation of acute vulnerability. In conversations the Special Rapporteur noted that leaving the country illegally using the coyotaje system is regarded by the population as the normal way of emigrating. The networks which smuggle migrants operate from the migrants’ place of origin