In recent years, Ecuador has seen an unprecedented increase in violence and insecurity. In 2023, the homicide rate reached 44.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest rates in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The security crisis is a result of widespread organized crime linked to drug trafficking, a challenging socio-economic situation, marginalization, as well as a weak institutional framework in the areas of law enforcement and the administration of justice. The current security situation impacts both social cohesion and human rights.
Under its governance portfolio, UNDP focuses on strengthening institutional and social capacities to reduce violence and promote peace and human security. In coordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women, UNDP implements a project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) that aims to enhance the capacity of the Government in citizen security planning and conflict management, operating at both the national and local level. To ensure complementarity, the project is implemented in synergy with another UNDP project on conflict prevention and intercultural dialogue funded by the Canadian Government. One of its outcomes will be the development of a local network of peace advocates. To design these two projects and to connect them with regional initiatives, such as InfoSegura, UNDP in Ecuador received support from UNDP’s Regional Hub in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development (the Global Programme).
At the regional level, UNDP supported the Municipality of Guayaquil in the development of its Citizen Security Plan of the City of Guayaquil. Although citizen security is a competence of the central government, coordinated responses at all levels are needed to combat organized crime and violence. UNDP advocated for integral and preventive approaches connecting security issues to matters of social cohesion, human rights, gender and social development. The security plan includes a set of indicators based on which local authorities will be able to assess its effectiveness and adapt, when needed.
UNDP also took steps to promote transparency of public institutions and contribute to the functioning of Open Government. The Open Government policy was introduced by the President of the Republic in 2019 as a commitment to develop national policies in a consultative and participatory manner, engaging government bodies, civil society organizations, the private sector and academia. In 2023, an Open Government Index was developed as an instrument to measure the implementation of the Open Government policy and action plan. The application of this index will be coordinated by the President’s Office, and the data will be used by the Undersecretariat of the Open Government. UNDP supported the design of the index and published a knowledge product summarizing technical and academic reflections on the Open Government concept, laying ground for the effective assessment of government policies.
Lessons learned and good practices
Due to the complex context and government transition, UNDP focused on strengthening public institutions at the local level. In particular, support was provided to Guayaquil’s Municipality in the development of the Guayaquil Security Plan.
UNDP widened its circle of partners to develop joint initiatives, empowering civil society and academia to participate in consultations under the Open Government policy.
Looking forward
UNDP will scale-up its technical assistance on citizen security and social cohesion and will identify programmatic entry points to work with the justice system, which is essential to address the security crisis. In addition, UNDP will expand its technical assistance in the areas of conflict management and prevention.
To promote and protect human rights, UNDP designed a proposal to strengthen the Ombudsperson’s Office. The initiative will be implemented in 2024 in partnership with the UN Human Rights Office under the Tripartite Partnership and with support from the Global Programme.