Victims of Slavery in Ecuador Should Receive Reparations

An operator works to obtain abaca fiber on a plantation in northwest Ecuador. For decades, many families had to work in conditions of modern slavery on these plantations, and UN human rights experts encourage the Ecuadorian justice system to establish responsibilities and fair reparation. Image: FNM By IPS HAVANA TIMES – Victims of contemporary forms of slavery in the abaca plantations in Ecuador should receive legal recourse and reparations in ongoing lawsuits, human rights experts from the United Nations system stated in this Swiss city. The lawsuits “are a unique opportunity for Ecuador to deliver justice to the victims,” and the company Furukawa Plantations C.A. “must be held accountable for the human rights abuses committed, and adequate, effective, and prompt reparations must be granted to the victims,” said the rapporteurs. Additionally, “human rights defenders must be protected instead of being intimidated,” noted the experts’ statement. They include members of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights: Robert McCorquodale (president rapporteur), Fernanda Hopenhaym, Pichamon Yeophantong, Damilola Olawuyi, and Elzbieta Karska, who act as independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights Council. In addition to them, the statement is signed by Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery;...