Ecuador: Constitutional Court approves extension of the state of emergency decreed by Noboa

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador approved this Tuesday the 30-day extension ordered by the President’s Government Daniel Noboa to the state of exception that was decreed on January 8 to put an end to a spiral of national violence linked to organized crime gangs, and which in principle should end at the beginning of March.

The highest court of guarantees declared the “constitutionality of renewing the state of emergency decreed throughout the national territory“, including the interior of prisons”,for 30 days from March 9, 2024″.

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Therefore, the state of exception will prevail until the beginning of next April with restriction measures such as the suspension of free movement, meetings and associations, as well as the participation of the Armed Forces in support of the Police for internal control operations in it. Country.

Furthermore, the Court recognized the existence of a “non-international armed conflict” which is carried out against criminal gangs, who have been blamed for the outbreak of violence in prisons and on the streets.

According to the Court, internal armed conflict is “a matter of fact and which, therefore, does not depend on political recognition”Or legal by any public authority.

The Constitutional Court recalled that “the intervention of the Armed forces Guaranteeing sovereignty and territorial integrity is one of its ordinary competencies”, but stressed that, in the event of armed conflict, these “can mobilize and intervene, in accordance with the legal system, without the need for a declaration of Exception status”.

Presidential report

In your opinion, the Constitutional Court He ordered President Noboa to send him a report with the results of the application of the measure “once the period of validity of the state of emergency has ended”.

He recalled that “The ultimate objective of the state of exception is to guarantee public order, social peace and the peaceful coexistence of citizens“, which is why he highlighted that the actions developed in this context by Police and the Armed ForcesThey must respect the applicable legal system, including the human rights of the entire population”.

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The apex court emphasized that all public servants “They will be responsible for any abuses they committed in the exercise of their powers during the state of emergency.”.

He also ordered that the Ombudsmanwithin the scope of its powers, monitor the actions taken in relation to the declaration of the state of emergency and report to the Constitutional Court when it ends.

Increase in violence

On March 7, the president Daniel Noboa issued an executive decree that extended the national state of emergency that had been in effect since January 8 for 30 days, which reduced the number of homicides, although there was an increase in the last week with the murder of a mayor and the deaths of a police officer and a soldier in separate confrontations with criminals.

Since January 9, he has also declared the existence of a “internal armed conflict”, with which he began to consider organized crime gangs as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors, and militarized prisons, which he considered as “security zones”.

During the first sixty days of the state of emergency, state security forces reported killing a dozen suspected criminals classified as “terrorists”, while three police officers died enforcing the law.

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As of March 8, police forces had arrested more than 11,000 people and seized more than 3,300 firearms and more than 24,000 explosives.

The Armed Forces took control of prisons, which were dominated by criminal gangs, whose rivalries have left more than 500 inmates murdered since 2020 in a series of prison massacres.

Prison violence also took to the streets last year, to the point that Ecuador became one of the most violent countries in the world. Latin Americawith 45 intentional homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2023.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.