Statement from the Chairperson and Members of the UNPFII on the arrest of Leonidas Iza Salazar, President CONAIE, Ecuador

Statement from the Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Dario Mejia Montalvo and Expert Members Irma Pineda Santiago, Lourdes Tibán Guala and Freddy Condo Riveros on the arrest of Leonidas Iza Salazar, President of Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE)

14 June 2022

Today, June 14, 2022, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has been alerted to the detention of CONAIE President, Leonidas Iza Salazar in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, by the Ecuadorian police. CONAIE together with other indigenous organizations and social sectors called for a national protest to demand social and economic improvements.

In a communiqué, the Attorney General’s Office has informed the public “that up to now, the citizen [Leonidas Iza Salazar] has not been placed under the orders of this institution and that it has not received the respective police report to know details of the arrest either.”

Due to the above, the Chairperson of the Permanent Forum and the expert members of the region urge the government of Ecuador to find a solution through political dialogue and release the President of CONAIE, Leonidas Iza Salazar, in observance of Art. 7.1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Art. 7 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which calls to guarantee the rights to freedom and security; among other international human rights instruments adopted by the government of Ecuador.

In the context of the social protests, it is urgent that the government of Ecuador evaluate the root cause of the problem and that the dialogue processes result in a peaceful and lasting solution that benefits the entire population.

Download the statement in PDF in EN and SP