Liberty & security of person

Ecuador displays a predominantly constitutional and rights-protective system on personal liberty, human mobility, and protection against serious forms of rights violations, such as trafficking in persons and the recruitment of children and adolescents. The Constitution establishes structural principles such as the right to migrate (art. 40), equality of rights between nationals and foreign nationals (art. 9), the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the exceptional character of restrictions on personal liberty (arts. 66 and 77), and the State's obligation to prevent, punish, and eradicate trafficking in persons and other forms of exploitation (art. 66.29(b)).

The Organic Law on Human Mobility, for its part, frames migration as an administrative rather than a criminal matter, incorporating the principle of non-criminalization (art. 2) and governing procedures such as inadmissibility and deportation through precautionary measures that do not deprive persons of liberty (arts. 138, 145, and 145.A). Constitutional case law reinforces this approach by establishing that deprivation of liberty is not an applicable measure in the migratory sphere, since the conduct at issue is not criminal. As regards children and adolescents, the legal order establishes an express prohibition on detention for migratory reasons and reinforced protection grounded in the best interests of the child (CRE art. 44; LOMH art. 2; CONA arts. 22, 57, and 326), as well as a prohibition on their recruitment or participation in hostilities, criminalized in the COIP (art. 127). These provisions consolidate a standard of comprehensive protection that bars the use of liberty-restricting measures for this group.

On trafficking in persons, Ecuador's legal system incorporates a comprehensive approach that combines criminalization (COIP arts. 91 and 92), recognition of victims' rights (COIP art. 11), and a specialized regime of protection and assistance through the Organic Law against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (arts. 1, 2, and 4). This framework includes measures of health care, legal assistance, psychosocial support, comprehensive reparation, and the principle of non-criminalization of victims (COIP art. 93), complemented by mechanisms of migratory regularization on humanitarian grounds (LOMH art. 58). Taken together, the system rests on constitutional guarantees developed in secondary criminal, administrative, and specialized regulations, creating a broad and cross-cutting model of protection applicable to all persons under Ecuadorian jurisdiction.