E/CN.4/2002/94/Add.1 page 10 Participants included Camilo Restrepo, Director of the National Directorate for Defence of the Rights of Migrants in the office of the Ombudsman; Galo Larrea, Minister and Director-General of Consular Affairs in the Foreign Ministry; Jorge Icasa, Director-General for Migration Affairs in the Foreign Ministry; and Amparo Ponde, Director of the Decentralized Territorial Unit of Pichincha. Later she briefly met Ms. Aase Smedler, the United Nations Resident Representative. 17. On 16 November a meeting to review the visit was held with Ambassador Luis Gallegos, the acting Foreign Minister, at which the Special Rapporteur expressed appreciation for the welcome she had received. II. THE GENERAL CONTEXT OF MIGRATION IN ECUADOR 18. Ecuador is a party to the principal United Nations international human rights instruments.1 The Special Rapporteur was informed during her visit that the Commission on International Affairs and National Defence of the Congress had approved the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which should therefore be ratified shortly. Ecuador has not ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, or the two protocols to it.2 However, the Special Rapporteur was informed that efforts in that direction are under way in the Congress. 19. Article 11 of the Constitution of Ecuador provides that “the State shall endeavour to protect Ecuadorians who are abroad”. Article 23 lays down “the right to cross the national territory freely and to choose one’s residence”, adding that “Ecuadorians shall enjoy freedom to enter and leave Ecuador”. Article 23 also prohibits trafficking in persons in all its forms (para. 4). 20. The Migration Act,3 the regulations issued in pursuance of the Act,4 and the Aliens Act5 are the principal texts which regulate matters relating to migration. The Migration Act governs the organization and coordination of services relating to entry into and exit from the country by nationals or foreigners, and is implemented by the Ministry of the Interior and Police and, through the Ministry, the office of the General Commander of the civilian police. 21. Four main State agencies are responsible for migration policy. The Office of the Director-General for Aliens and the Office of the National Director for Migration both fall under the Ministry of the Interior and Police, while the Office of the Director-General for Migration Affairs and the Office of the Director-General for Ecuadorians Living Abroad form part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is also a Consultative Council on Migration Policy, comprising the above-mentioned bodies and other ministries concerned. 22. The Government of Ecuador informed the Special Rapporteur that in August 2000 it had suggested to the Government of Spain that bilateral negotiations should be started on an agreement to regulate migratory flows between the two countries and create a special regularization process for Ecuadorian citizens. The Special Rapporteur was informed that on 25 January 2001 a range of measures had been agreed by the two countries resulting in regularization of the status of 25,000 Ecuadorians.