Event Summary
On 5 March 2026, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador (CCE) issued judgment 1732-25-EP/26, accepting an extraordinary protection action filed against a ruling that had denied a habeas corpus petition on behalf of four minors who disappeared in 2024 at the hands of the Armed Forces. Through this decision, the Court determined that the minors were victims of enforced disappearance committed by the State. Specifically, it found that the children were illegally and arbitrarily detained, that the Ecuadorian State denied providing information about their detention, and that the information later provided to the courts and to the victims’ families was filled with irregularities and inconsistencies.
This ruling was the result of pressure and support provided by the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, a civil society organization that has provided legal and psychological accompaniment to the families of the disappeared minors since the beginning of the case. The decision marks an important step toward uncovering the truth surrounding the case and achieving justice, while also highlighting the work carried out by civil society in the context of abuses of power and the militarization of public security in Ecuador.
There have not yet been reactions from other civil society actors regarding the ruling. However, Enrique Herrería, Legal Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic, expressed his dissatisfaction with the actions of the Constitutional Court, arguing that the institution had overstepped its authority.
Este evento no forma parte de un patrón determinado, pues el trabajo de incidencia de sociedad civil con respecto a casos de vulneración de derechos humanos y abusos de poder cometidos por la fuerza pública generalmente es obstaculizado por el Estado.