Re: Human rights defenders Jhonny Jiménez Jiménez and other members of SERPAJ
To: Dr. Alfredo Palacio, President of the Republic of Ecuador
From: Isabel Stramwasser, Ecuador Monitor of LRWC
Date: 2006-05-02
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada is gravely concerned with the safety of staff and family members associated with the non-profit organization Peace and Justice Service (in Spanish: Servicio de Paz y Justicia – SERPAJ) since break-ins into the home and offices of that organization on:
- December 9, 2005: intruders broke into the offices of Peace and Justice Service and stole a laptop used by its president; and,
- March 31, 2006: intruders broke into the home of Mr. Jhonny Jiménez Jiménez, president of Peace and Justice Service, searched through drawers and wardrobes, threw the contents on the floor and didn’t taken anything although there were valuables in the house.
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada believes that these two break-ins are threats against Peace and Justice Service that attempt to prevent the organization from carrying out its human rights work.
HUMAN RIGHTS WORK
The most recent work of Peace and Justice Service includes:
- monitoring the impact in Ecuador of Plan Columbia, a US-backed military aid package; and,
- criticizing Plan Columbia by stating that it has led to human rights violations and the militarization of the Columbia-Ecuador border.
GOVERNMENTAL OBLIGATIONS
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada calls on the government of Ecuador to fulfill its domestic and international obligations and to:
- Guarantee the safety of staff of Peace and Justice Service and their families;
- Conduct an immediate, independent and public investigations into the break-ins and theft of December 9, 2005 and March 31, 2006 and the links between them;
- Lay charges where applicable;
- Collaborate with human rights groups such as Peace and Justice Service to assess and take action on reports of human rights violations in Ecuador and other countries; and,
- Develop a national action plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which the Republic of Ecuador supports through the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada awaits your response.
Thank you for your attention to our concerns.
