Attachments
Operational context
Ecuador continues to be at the centre of ongoing population movements and forced displacements of multiple nationalities. The number of people from Colombia seeking asylum in Ecuador continues to increase, with over 1,000 registered in in May and June this year. The number of Colombians seeking asylum in Ecuador so far in 2024 (3,925) is now three quarters of the total registered in the entire 2023, according to Government figures. Venezuelans continued to rank first in arrivals in the country, with over 42,000 who entered Ecuador during the reporting period. According to Government figures, the first semester of 2024 has seen asylum claims increase considerably (8,434), registering 78% of the total asylum claims registered in the entire 2023, which continues to make Ecuador an important country of asylum.
Although there has not been an official announcement of the extension of the regularization process for refugees and migrants, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility has made statements about it becoming a reality for people who successfully completed the registration process will be able to access this extension. UNHCR and IOM are working together with the National Government to implement the extension of the regularization process, as well as a communication campaign to disseminate it among the population.
The wave of violence continues in Ecuador. Between April and June, President Noboa has issued three state of exception decrees, two of them declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. For the last state of exception, the government sent a document with more than 50 pages of substantiation, where data such as the 700% increase in violent deaths in the country, that 4.5% of the surveyed adolescents know people who have been recruited by criminal gangs, and that 60% of these armed groups have children and adolescents among their members were included. According to data gathered by UNHCR in Ecuador until 10 July, refugees and other displaced people have reported 715 security incidents which have affected 670 people, mainly related to gender-based violence, insecurity and criminal violence, torture and exploitation. In addition, 285 refugees and migrants have reported to UNHCR they were displaced to other locations because of violence. UNHCR and partners continue to adapt their response to support to refugees and other displaced people with assistance and orientation.
Moreover, Ecuadorians continue to feature among the top nationalities to be crossing the Darien, with just over 12,000 people (second nationality after Venezuelans) by end of May 2024, according to Panamanian authorities. However, the largest numbers of people fleeing Ecuador are being registered through El Salvador, where over 43,000 people had entered by the end of April 2024.
The Safe Mobility initiative continues to be implemented in the country, providing eligible refugees and migrants with safe and regular pathways to the U.S. See more here.