CIVICUS discusses Ecuador’s new Organic Law on Social Transparency with Vivian Idrovo, coordinator of the Alliance for Human Rights Ecuador.

The law, enacted in August, establishes mandatory registration for civil society organisations (CSOs) and risk-based audits. The government has justified it as a measure against money laundering and crime financing, but domestic and international organisations warn its ambiguous provisions could restrict independent civil society action. The law comes in a context where CSOs are being systematically stigmatised by high-ranking officials.

What does the new law establish and what was the approval process?

On 29 July, President Daniel Noboa submitted the Organic Law on Social Transparency, formerly known as the Law on Foundations, to the National Assembly. The bill was processed through an economic emergency procedure, which requires the Assembly to decide within 30 days, and if it fails to do so, the proposal automatically converts into a decree-law. Following two debates, the Assembly approved the bill on 26 August and it was promulgated the following day.

The law requires CSOs to register with a system controlled by the Ministry of Government, justify their objectives and impacts, report on their donors and beneficiaries and implement internal ‘integrity’ mechanisms. The Superintendency of Popular and Solidarity Economy will supervise implementation, and non-compliance may result in the organisation being dissolved. The only exceptions are religious organisations and those the government has delegated public functions to.

Although it was presented as a regulation for foundations, the law also includes other provisions such as a tax on private company profits, reforms to the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit, regulations on the liabilities of state-owned companies in liquidation and changes to the mining concession regime. This violates the principle of unity of subject matter, which requires that each law deals with a single issue.

The government justified the need for this law by vaguely alleging the existence of financial transactions suspected of being linked to money laundering or the financing of organised crime, but didn’t provide any evidence. Independent journalistic investigations, such as the ‘Dorada Opacidad’ series by the digital media outlet Plan V, have shown that it’s private companies, such as those linked to goldmining, that mainly benefit from illegal economies. However, the state hasn’t proposed equivalent regulations for the business sector.

CSOs are already subject to multiple control mechanisms: we must register with state institutions, comply with tax audits, submit to audits required by donors and be accountable to our constituencies. The financial system also requires us to justify any transaction over US$5,000. There was no justification for imposing new restrictions.

What was the context in which this law was passed?

It was passed amid a serious and unprecedented crisis of violence. Until 2020, Ecuador was considered an ‘island of peace’, but this has changed. Using insecurity as a pretext, Noboa has submitted five bills under the economic urgency procedure; four are now in force and one is pending. An intelligence law that had been suspended in 2022 and was taken up again by the Assembly in 2024 was also passed.

These laws all weaken democracy: they reinforce militarisation, allow espionage without judicial oversight, limit judicial independence, facilitate the handover of Indigenous territories to extractive companies and restrict the right to freedom of association.

Unfortunately, what is happening in Ecuador is not an isolated case. Similar laws that seek to limit civil society’s ability to demand respect for human rights have been passed or attempted in El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru.

What are civil society’s concerns about this law?

We fear it will be used to persecute organisations that challenge those in power, particularly those of us who defend human and environmental rights. We are exposed to uncontrolled espionage and to being classified as ‘high-value targets’, which enables raids and ‘neutralisation’ measures. We are also forced to hand over sensitive information about the communities we support, increasing their vulnerability in a context of extortion, kidnappings and violence.

The risk is not theoretical. The then Minister of Government explicitly mentioned the ‘anti-mining front’ as a target of the law, and an Indigenous justice hearing confirmed that social leaders and human rights defenders, including members of our alliance, had been spied on.

Attacks on judicial independence only exacerbate the situation. On 12 August, Noboa led a march against the Constitutional Court, publicly singling out some of the judges. This creates a climate of pressure that could influence key decisions where people’s rights clash with the interests of the executive branch.

As civil society members, we believe this law is unconstitutional and must be challenged. Until that happens, we will continue to denounce its impacts and highlight how it restricts civic freedoms and endangers those of us who defend human and environmental rights in Ecuador.