UN Human Rights experts commented on the trials for modern slavery that are being followed in the country against the Furukawa firm.
Ecuador must guarantee justice and reparation to the victims of modern slavery in two trials taking place in the country for alleged human trafficking for labor exploitation. They signed it this April 29 human rights experts of the United Nations.
The experts’ request responds to the ongoing trials against the company Furukawa Plantations in the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and a provincial criminal court. The company is accused of allegedly having subjected forced labor, servitude and other serious human rights abuses to more than 330 people for more than six decades.
These violations would have occurred on the farms owned by the company for the abaca harvest in Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Los Ríos.
In 2021, the ordinary justice system recognized that the working conditions on these plantations constituted “a violation of the Equality right, non-discrimination, the prohibition of servitude, the right to health, housing and education”.
The judicial authority forced both Furukawa Plantations and to the Ecuadorian State, as those responsible, to apply repair measures to the victims in the form of financial compensation and public apologies.
However, in a trial in the Court of Justice of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas It only confirmed the responsibility of the company and exonerated the Ecuadorian State of responsibility.
Given this situation, last April the Constitutional Court of Ecuador initiated a review hearing on the alleged omission of responsibility of the Ecuadorian State. The verdict expected next week.
At the same time, it is expected that the Santo Domingo Criminal Court decide on June 20 if Furukawa Plantations should face criminal sanctions.
According to UN experts, both trials are “a unique opportunity so that Ecuador does justice to the victims” of these abuses, who, they assure, “must receive legal resources and reparation.”
“Furukawa Plantations must be held accountable for the human rights abuses committed and adequate, effective and prompt reparation must be granted to the victims,” they said in a statement.
They also called on Ecuador to be “more effective” in preventing forms of modern slavery. It is requested that the laws be strengthened and that periodic labor inspections and effective, especially in high-risk economic sectors.
The UN rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery signs the statement, Tomoya Obokata, and their counterparts on the right to education (Farida Shaheed)to food (Michael Fakhri) and drinking water (Pedro Arrojo-Agudo)among other experts.
