After death threats against three women human rights
defenders in Ecuador protecting the rights of banana workers, the Observatory
together with over 30 other civil society organisations call on
companies sourcing from Ecuador to reach out to suppliers and take
necessary steps to ensure the case is investigated.
Three women human rights defenders working as coordinators of the Ecuadorian trade union ASTAC (Asociación
Sindical de Trabajadores Agrícolas y Campesinos) have received death
threats related to their work. The undersigned civil society
organisations call on companies sourcing bananas from Ecuador to act.
They must reach out to suppliers and push relevant actors to ensure the
case is investigated and perpetrators held accountable, as well as step
up their efforts to support human rights defenders at risk and adopt
zero tolerance policies against attacks.
On the 4th of October 2023, Maricela
Guzmán, Diana Montoya and Miriam Ternoz from ASTAC received identical
Whatsapp messages in which the senders threatened to kill them. The
message included detailed information about the defenders’ family
members and addresses. The three women were demanded to henceforth
refrain from defending workers' rights and not to interfere with the
interests of banana companies.
ASTAC has worked to improve labour rights,
health and safety issues and environmental impacts related to the
banana sector for more than a decade. Already in 2018, death threats
were received by ASTAC's coordinator, Jorge Acosta, who also has faced judicial threats.
The latest threats are another example of violation of the rights of
human rights defenders and workers in the country which has become
increasingly violent in the past years.
Against this backdrop we, the undersigned
organisations representing civil society, urge companies sourcing
bananas from Ecuador, in line with the UN Guiding Principles of Business
and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on
Responsible Business Conduct, the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders and the International Labour Organisation Conventions 87 and
98, to:
- Take effective steps to help ensure the security of ASTAC staff and members including
by condemning the actions and reaching out to state actors in Ecuador
and other relevant parties to urge that the case is promptly
investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted.
- Reach out to suppliers and relevant
business associations and include a zero-tolerance principle to any
kind of involvement in attacks against defenders in relevant business
relations, contracts and agreements.
- Conduct
continuous human rights due diligence including assessment of the
situation of civic freedoms and human rights and environmental defenders
and engaging in meaningful consultation with human rights defenders.
The persons named in the article have requested to have their names published.
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