Ecuador - April 2023

President Guillermo Lasso’s government has announced that, given the increased violence from gangs and organized crime, adults over 25 years of age can carry guns, subject to several requirements, including obtaining a permit after psychological and toxicological evaluation. Previously, the use of guns was mostly restricted to police and military personnel.  Members of academia, civil society and Indigenous leaders have criticized this policy, arguing that it transfers the responsibility of personal safety to civilians, fails to address the underlying causes of violence, and undermines Ecuador’s commitment to the elimination of domestic and gender-based violence. Critics have also expressed worry that civilian use of guns could exacerbate harassment of social activists. A group of human rights lawyers has challenged the executive policy before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, arguing that due to the implications on the right to life and personal integrity, civilian gun ownership is a matter that should be formally and substantially regulated in legislation.

Sources: El País, Teleamazonas, Prensa Latina, TelesurTV

On 27 April, Ecuador’s security council (COSEPE) issued a resolution declaring “terrorism” a threat to the State and recommending to the President the use of urgent and coercive measures to curtail the violence. The council also recommended that an executive decree authorize the use of lethal force by security agents against organized crime. Guillermo Lasso’s Government has sought to curtail increasing gang violence using regional and local curfews, states of emergency, and most recently the authorization of civilian use of guns for personal protection.

Sources: Reuters, MercoPress, El Comercio