The Observatory of Justice for Afro-descendants in Latin America (OJALA) has carried out a series of “Training Workshops for Judicial System Operators on the Application of Ethnic-Racial Legal Instruments (collective rights and crimes of discrimination and hate) for the benefit of Afro-descendants in Ecuador.” This initiative has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the research project “A multifaceted examination of the application of ‘ethnic-racial laws’ for Afro-descendants in contemporary multicultural Ecuador,” which is being conducted from August 2021 to at least July 2024.

During the training sessions, which took place in February, March, and May 2023, important topics related to collective rights and crimes of discrimination and hate were addressed. The workshops consisted of four modules covering subjects such as international human rights instruments on racial discrimination, hate regulation and hate crimes in comparative and Ecuadorian law, crimes of discrimination and hate in the Comprehensive Penal Code of Ecuador, and strategic litigation within the framework of the anti-racist movement. The faculty included renowned experts in law and racial justice, such as Professor John Antón Sánchez from the Institute of National Higher Studies (Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, IAEN), Professor Juan Montaña Pinto from the Central University of Ecuador, jurist and former prosecutor Gina Gómez de la Torre, and the team from ILEX Acción Jurídica Colombia, represented by their deputy director, Audrey Mena Mosquera.

Through these workshops, OJALA seeks to play a relevant role in analyzing the treatment that the Ecuadorian institutional system has given to the phenomena of racial discrimination and collective rights. Public defenders, judges, and prosecutors who have participated in these trainings have gained a broader understanding of the history, theory, and application of ethnic-racial legal instruments, and have recognized the quality of the presenters and the relevance of the topics addressed. These workshops have not only provided new knowledge about relevant legal instruments but have also contributed to improving participants’ understanding of the persistence of structural racism in Ecuadorian society. From this perspective, the OJALA team is confident that these types of activities will contribute to ensuring greater access to justice for the Afro-Ecuadorian and Afro-descendant community in general.