A/HRC/42/37/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The present report reviews the situation of indigenous peoples in Ecuador drawing on information received by the Special Rapporteur during her visit to the country from 19 to 29 November 2018 and on independent research, taking into account the observations made by her predecessors in 2006, 2008 and 2009, 1 the communications issued by the mandate and the recommendations of other international and regional human rights mechanisms. 2. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur met with the President of Ecuador, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other ministers and high-level representatives from various ministries and State institutions, including the National Assembly, the Council of the Judiciary, the National Court of Justice, the Attorney General’s Office, the Counsel General’s Office and the National Electoral Council. She also held discussions with the Ombudsman’s Office and representatives of civil society, academia, the private sector and the United Nations system. 3. The Special Rapporteur met with representatives of indigenous peoples from the highlands, the coast and the Amazon region in national and regional assemblies and on visits to communities in several provinces. She held separate meetings with indigenous women and visited the Turi Detention Centre in the city of Cuenca. 4. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government of Ecuador for its cooperation and for allowing her to conduct her visit in a free and independent manner. She would also like to acknowledge the support of the offices of the Resident Coordinator and of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In particular, she thanks the indigenous peoples of Ecuador for their hospitality in their territories and the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador for their work in organizing meetings. 5. The visit coincided with the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of 2008, a timely occasion for assessing the progress made in implementing the commitments set forth in the Constitution concerning the construction of a plurinational State, including through the effective application of the collective rights of indigenous communes, communities, peoples and nations, 2 in keeping with the international human rights obligations of Ecuador. II. General considerations 6. According to the latest census, in 2010, Ecuador had a population of almost 14.5 million people. Based on linguistic criteria, 6.1 per cent of the population was recognized as indigenous in the census, but different sources estimate that the indigenous population accounts for between 35 per cent and 45 per cent of the population. 7. There are 14 nations and 18 officially recognized indigenous peoples in Ecuador. 3 Some of the indigenous peoples in the Amazon region live in voluntary isolation and initial contact. Some indigenous nations, including the Sápara, Siona, Shiwiar and Cofán, in the Amazon region, and the Épera and Manta on the coast, have very few members, so their survival as peoples is especially threatened. 8. During the final decades of the twentieth century, a strong indigenous movement took shape which resulted in significant progress being made towards recognition of their collective rights. The National Directorate for Bilingual Intercultural Education was created in 1988. In 1998, the indigenous movement succeeded in obtaining recognition in the Constitution of some of their collective rights and of the country’s multi-ethnic and multicultural nature, as well as ratification of the Convention concerning Indigenous and 1 2 3 GE.19-11328 A/HRC/4/32/Add.2; A/HRC/9/9/Add.1 (annex 1); A/HRC/15/37/Add.7. To save space, the term “indigenous peoples” will be used. National Development Plan, 2017–2021. 3