A/HRC/45/44/Add.1 enrolment in secondary education rose by 31.2 per cent for indigenous adolescents, by 20 per cent for mestizo adolescents and by 22 per cent for Afro-Ecuadorian adolescents. 58. The Working Group note that Afro-Ecuadorians continue to face challenges in terms of access to secondary and higher education despite affirmative action in universities, reportedly owing to the poor quality of their education at the primary and secondary levels.16 To try and address this gap, the parliamentary group on people of African descent is developing a new law to introduce “ethno-education” – that is, ensuring access to goodquality education, including promoting and preserving the cultural identity, history and ancestral knowledge of the Afro-Ecuadorian people in education – into the curriculum. There is a pilot project for schools that will become guardians of traditional knowledge. Academics have also studied the reasons behind the failure, even in the public system, to apply the mandatory quotas for admission to higher education for groups that have historically been excluded and discriminated against, as provided in article 74 of the Organic Act on Higher Education.17 59. According to official data, the proportion of the Afro-Ecuadorian population that is unemployed is greater than that of other population groups.18 The State has recognized this and has developed public policies to promote the expansion of coverage in education, health, labour and academic training, along with increased access to basic and public services. However, during the Working Group’s visit, Afro-Ecuadorians reported that racial discrimination continued in all areas of life, including in employment. According to official statistics provided to the Working Group, from the national survey on employment, unemployment and underemployment in 2019, only 45.5 per cent of the Afro-Ecuadorian population complete primary education and 23.6 per cent attend high school, and in terms of employment categories, 38.3 per cent are employers or partners, 35 per cent are private employees, 8.63 per cent are self-employed and 7.4 per cent are civil servants. 60. The situation concerning Furukawa, described above, is a severe case of impunity for labour exploitation, in a vicious cycle of human rights violations lasting for 56 years. Hundreds of families are severely affected and the victims are mainly people of African descent. Despite the evidence and the facts of the case, justice and reparations have not been delivered to the victims in accordance with the law. 61. Racial discrimination and disparities are also apparent in access to health. The Government informed the Working Group that it had developed a number of plans and initiatives specifically for Afro-Ecuadorians to address these gaps. 62. According to information received, Ecuador declared a state of emergency and quarantine for the entire national territory starting on 17 March 2020, owing to the COVID19 pandemic. The measures included restrictions on mobility, prohibition of productive activities (limited to 80 per cent) and curfews. The communities of African descent in the villages of northern Esmeraldas, which are mostly river villages, abided by the measures in order to safeguard the health of their inhabitants and prevent the spread of the disease, which meant that they stopped using their canoes and rivers for transport. This situation has obviously led to a shortage of food products, and they are experiencing a food and health emergency because they cannot market their products and lack the money to purchase medicines. All the rivers in the Cantons of Eloy Alfaro and San Lorenzo are contaminated by mining activity. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all citizens are under quarantine and respect curfews, people of African descent have reported that mining activities have not ceased, but rather that they have intensified in their territories. The situation has deteriorated, as these communities do not have drinking water and are absolutely dependent on the water of their rivers for cooking, cleaning and other social, cultural and spiritual activities. In addition, there are concerns about the shortage of 16 17 18 12 Ethan Johnson, “Afro-Ecuadorian educational movement: racial oppression, its origins and oral tradition”, Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 7, No. 4 (October 2014), pp. 115–137. John Antón Sánchez and Katy Valencia Caicedo, “El impacto del Sistema Nacional de Admisión y Nivelación y el acceso en los afrodescendientes a la universalidad pública ecuatoriana”, Revista San Gregorio, No. 15 (July–December 2016), pp. 20–33. National Statistics and Census Institute, Las cifras del pueblo Afroecuatoriano, p. 106.