Due to mistreatment and racism, four legislative advisers from the Constitutional Guarantees and Human Rights table resign

The rapporteur secretary and three advisors from the Commission for Constitutional Guarantees, Human Rights, Collective Rights and Interculturality of the National Assembly presented their irrevocable resignation for mistreatment and racism by assembly members.

The advisory group of the commission chaired by legislator José Cabascango (Pachakutik) makes it clear that even the president of the table is the object of disrespect by legislators, although they do not specify names.

Daniel Jerves García (rapporteur secretary), Pablo de la Vega, Gabriela Galindo and Verónica Morales are the people who presented their resignation on March 17 and who will provide their services until March 31 so that an orderly transition can be carried out.

The commission is made up of legislators José Cabascango (PK), president; Victoria Desintonio (UNES), Vice President; Edgar Quezada, Mario Ruiz and Sofía Sánchez (PK); Paola Cabezas and Fernanda Astudillo (UNES); Gruber Zambrano and Virgilio Saquicela (BAN).

The letter states that the decision to resign from the position is due to strictly professional and ethical issues, since the ideal conditions do not exist in the commission to carry out technical work, with efficiency and absolute responsibility.

That, in addition to the systematic mistreatment of the technical team and the constant humiliation, they feel “the existence of a highly marked issue of racism towards the person who holds the presidency of this commission, clearly evidencing the recurrent intention to denigrate and boycott the work carried out by its president with anti-technical and irrational arguments”.

Likewise, they report that in the sessions, instead of there being technical, legal or even political discussions of the legislators, there are only incidents, shouts and disrespect to those who are summoned as appearing, to the technical team and, with much regret, to the president.

That to verify these assertions, the advisory team suggests reviewing the sessions in which the director of Youth of the Ministry of Social Inclusion, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Health, the vice minister of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, the session in the that the amnesty report was approved and the recent session in which the proposal for the macro-supervision of mining issues with a human rights-based approach was discussed. In those sessions, the guests and the staff of the commission have been mistreated, not counting the behind-the-scenes, in which —in their own words— “we have been mistreated by some legislators, with honorable exceptions.”

That it is inconceivable that these facts are registered in a commission of constitutional guarantees and human rights, in which human dignity should prevail above all things.

That there is zero tolerance for the presidency of the commission being exercised by a person from the Ecuadorian Sierra, from indigenous peoples.

The president of the commission, José Cabascango, said that each assembly member must respond to the discomfort expressed by the advisory team; but that he, personally, has felt that “in some sessions the assembly members, rather than contribute with technical or legal arguments, have rather tried to complicate the development of these sessions.” That he will review the letter sent by the commission’s advisory team.

He added that they have had several interruptions from assembly members that do not allow the sessions to develop in a better way, and each one will have to make a self-criticism. He did not want to give names, but pointed out that there are several cases that have been presented in the commission. (I)