A/HRC/45/44/Add.1 address without real implementation and enforcement of law and policy and dedicated resources to address the situation of Afro-Ecuadorians. 7. The first enslaved Africans are thought to have arrived in Ecuador in 1526. The trade in enslaved Africans to Ecuador thrived as the demand for enslaved labour among Jesuit monks and missionaries increased. These monks, missionaries and owners of huge haciendas and cotton and sugar-cane plantations needed cheap labour to increase their productivity and maximize their profits. Enslaved Africans were sent to work in gold mines, which exposed them to dangerous situations with no protection. Young women and children were made to work in homes until they were old enough to do more strenuous work. In 1533, a ship carrying enslaved Africans travelling to Peru capsized on the Ecuadorian coast. A total of 23 enslaved Africans survived, after which they established a Maroon settlement in Esmeraldas. The successful establishment of the settlement made them the first freed peoples in Ecuador. Between 1710 and 1820, there were several rebellions and resistance movements by enslaved people who challenged the colonial superstructure of racism and exploitation. Enslaved Africans who escaped the oppressive and repressive system of enslavement often settled in Esmeraldas, which later developed into a black community. After a while, more and more freed people began to settle in other parts of the country. Many black people fought in the army to help Ecuador gain its independence, but despite the country gaining independence in 1822, slavery in Ecuador officially came to an end only in the 1850s. The end of slavery began a new struggle for Afro-Ecuadorians.2 Enslavers were compensated for their loss, while the enslaved were left with no land or money. They could not afford education because they were not offered jobs and many of them were forced to continue working for very little money or in exchange for a place to sleep and something to eat. Descendants of enslaved Africans in Ecuador continued to suffer racism and marginalization.3 8. In 1988, the Asociación de Negros Ecuatorianos (known as ASONE) was set up by Afro-Ecuadorians to fight for the fundamental rights of its people. It was the first of many groups to be formed with the aim of making Ecuador a home to people of African descent. The fight of Afro-Ecuadorians continued and reached its peak in 1992, during the 500th anniversary of the European arrival in the Americas. They aimed to include their narrative in history after many years of having been sidelined, disrespected and disregarded. After years of struggle, the Afro-Ecuadorian community got support from international bodies, including pan-Latin American networks. The connection with these organizations led the Government to include and recognize the Afro-Ecuadorian community in the Constitution as an ethnic group with rights.4 9. The Working Group was inspired by the extensive literature by Afro-Ecuadorian academics who have studied the history and current situation of Afro-Ecuadorians, including poverty and the failure of public policies to bridge the gaps between racial and ethnic groups and protect the rights guaranteed in the Constitution, as well as specific recommendations to address these concerns.5 The Working Group encourages all stakeholders to ensure that experts of African descent are involved at all stages of the development and implementation of laws and policies to ensure the fulfilment and protection of the human rights of Afro-Ecuadorians. 10. According to official government statistics based on the last census, in 2010,6 7.2 per cent of the population, or more than one million citizens of Ecuador, self-identify as people of African descent. The Afro-Ecuadorian people are particularly widespread in the Costa region: the highest percentage of the Afro-Ecuadorian population is distributed across 2 3 4 5 6 Carole Boyce Davis, ed., Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture (Santa Barbara, California, ABC-CLIO, 2008). Elizabeth Ofosuah Johnson, “The resilient story of Afro-Ecuadorians who gained recognition in 2002, 150 years after slavery had ended”, Face 2 Face Africa, 22 August 2018. Ibid. See, for example, John Antón Sánchez, Afroecuatorianos y políticas de inclusión en la Revolución Ciudadana (Quito, Ediciones Abya-Yala, 2018). National Statistics and Census Institute, Las cifras del pueblo Afroecuatoriano: Una mirada desde el Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010 (Quito, 2011). 3