A/HRC/41/35/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/18, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression undertook an official visit to Ecuador from 5 to 11 October 2018 to assess the situation of freedom of expression in the country, at the invitation of the Government. The mission was conducted in coordination with the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, Edison Lanza, who visited the cities of Quito and Guayaquil from 20 to 24 August 2018. 2. The Special Rapporteurs are grateful for the cooperation of the Government of Ecuador in facilitating and organizing their visits. During their respective visits, the Special Rapporteurs met with the President, Lenín Moreno, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other representatives of the executive branch and the judiciary, including the Prosecutor General, the Chief Justice of the National Court of Justice, the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Justice of Guayas, the Attorney General of the State, the acting Ombudsperson, the Minister and Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technologies, the Minister of the Interior, the undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for citizen security, a former Minister of Justice, Human Rights, and Religious Affairs and the acting Minister for that portfolio, the national Secretary and Undersecretary for Communication, the President of the National Assembly, the National Assembly committee on collective rights, the general manager of the Medios Públicos company, the Director General of the International Center for Advanced Communication Studies for Latin America, the agency for the regulation and oversight of telecommunications, the Council on the Regulation and Development of Information and Communications, the Superintendent of Information and Communications, the transitional council for citizen participation and social oversight and the transitional judiciary council, among others. 3. The Special Rapporteurs also met with journalists, media representatives, victims of violations of freedom of expression in Ecuador, members of indigenous communities, lawyers, academics, civil society representatives and members of the diplomatic community. The Special Rapporteurs would like to thank those interlocutors for their participation and contribution. 4. The Special Rapporteurs also met with representatives and staff of the United Nations country team and appreciated the support they provided during the visits. 5. The visits show that the State’s public institutions are in the midst of a transition to overcome and remedy previous government policies that interfered with freedom of expression. The Special Rapporteurs agree that over the past decade, the Government of Ecuador had stigmatized and persecuted journalists, undermined independent civil society organizations and limited access to information, treating freedom of expression as a privilege rather than an individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights law. 6. The Special Rapporteurs recognize as significant progress the measures taken by the current Government to put an end to those violations of the right to freedom of expression, and to reverse their effects. They also welcome the measures taken to ensure that the importance of the work of the press and the protection of human rights in a democratic society is publicly recognized through statements by government authorities, public events and the dialogue initiated with these sectors of society. 7. The Special Rapporteurs note, furthermore, that this clear shift requires, in addition to the revision of laws and regulations, long-term commitments to guarantee every individual’s right to freedom of expression. This requires a broad commitment to implementation at every level of government, a cultural shift inside and outside public institutions in thinking about open government and citizen participation, and a major effort to destigmatize and promote independent media, the profession of journalism, and community and public media development. 3