CHAPTER VI


THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED WITHIN THE PENAL SYSTEM OF ECUADOR

A severe consequence of the deficiencies in the administration of justice is the situation of the social rehabilitation system of the country. There are numerous and pervasive problems within the penal system which stem largely from, first, delays within the criminal justice system which lead to overcrowding in the prisons, and, second, from the inadequate provision of resources to meet basic needs. As a consequence, such rudimentary requirements as adequate infrastructure, sanitation, nutrition and access to medical attention are not always provided, and the stated commitment of the system to rehabilitation is not met. The Government recognized this to be the case in its March 19, 1997 observations.

As discussed in the previous chapter, Article 5 of the American Convention establishes the right of every person to have his or her "physical, mental, and moral integrity respected," consequently, torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment are prohibited. Article 5 establishes additional guarantees for persons deprived of liberty, on the basis of the fundamental principle that: "All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."(1) This means that, as a general rule, accused persons must be segregated from convicted persons, and shall be subject to "treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons." This also requires that minor detainees be treated in accordance with their special status. Finally, this requires that the punishment of imprisonment "shall have as an essential aim the reform and social readaptation" of the prisoner. This chapter examines the human rights situation of persons deprived of their liberty within the Ecuadorean prison system, with particular attention to the way in which the lack of basic requirements may be inconsistent with the duty to treat all detainees with respect for their inherent dignity as human beings.

There are just over 30 social rehabilitation centers nationally, including provisional detention centers in Quito and Guayaquil, which housed approximately 9,280 prisoners at the time of the Commission's visit. The prison population is predominantly male and of working age, between 15 and 40 years old; approximately 10% is female.(2) Four of the centers house female detainees, others have separate wings for male and female inmates. The system is run by the National Directorate of Social Rehabilitation, which implements policies adopted by the National Council of Social Rehabilitation and reports to the Minister of Government. These agencies have taken some steps to address the chronic problems within the penal system, including the building of a small number of new facilities, and the remodelling of others. However, these measures have clearly been insufficient.

The Legislature has also acted in response to the situation of delay in the criminal justice system and overcrowding in the prisons. Recognizing that approximately 70% of those incarcerated were awaiting trial or sentencing, and that this constituted "a grave violation of the fundamental rights of individuals," the Legislature adopted the Act Amending the Criminal Code in 1992.(3) The Act provides that persons detained without having been brought to trial for one-third or more of the time provided as the maximum penalty for the offense charged are to be released immediately. Persons not sentenced within a period equal to or greater than half of the maximum penalty prescribed are also to be released. However, because persons charged with drug-related offenses are expressly excluded from these protections, the situation the Legislature sought to change has only been slightly ameliorated, if at all.(4)

In Quito the Commission visited Rehabilitation Centers No. 1 (formerly the García Moreno Prison), No. 2 (the Ambato Street Prison), No. 3 (which houses the Provisional Detention Center), No. 4, and the Women's Social Rehabilitation Center (El Inca Prison). Centers 1 and 3 are housed in the same general area, and the so-called "Clínica de Conducta" is adjacent to these two facilities. A Commission delegation travelled to Guayaquil, and visited the Men's Coastal Penitentiary and the Women's Prison.

 

Conditions in the Prison Facilities

The principal concern with respect to prison conditions is the severe overcrowding of inmates in the facilities. The figures available indicate that the problem is most pronounced in the urban areas where the majority of prisoners are housed. Official figures from the first half of 1994 indicated that some facilities housed more than twice the number of inmates projected for the space:(5) the projected capacity of Rehabilitation Center No. 2 is reportedly 428, but 1067 men were housed there. The Provisional Detention Center in Quito is supposed to house 212 inmates, but had an actual population of 722. The men's facility in Guayaquil has a projected capacity of 1290, but was housing 2096 detainees. During the second half of 1994, it was reportedly housing 2600 interns.(6) The Portoviejo facility was reported to have a capacity of 158, but was housing 406 individuals. Just under half of the remaining facilities were listed as having inmate populations exceeding their capacity to a lesser degree.

The Commission observed overcrowding in a number of the facilities it visited, and prison officials were unanimous in confirming this to be a chronic situation. In one of the facilities, a group of prisoners reported having to sleep on the floor because there were no more beds. The Commission delegation observed inmates crowded into rooms with insufficient ventilation, with obviously inadequate sanitation and non-functioning plumbing, and with only the narrowest of corridors between the crowded bunks. Several prison officials observed that the compression of the inmates into spaces too small for coexistence contributed to friction among them, as well as between the inmates and prison personnel, and sometimes led to violent confrontations.(7) The Commission also received information from a local non-governmental organization which alleged that in one instance a cell of 8 by 15 meters in the Guayaquil men's facility was used to house 40 inmates as a form of punishment.

While the situation of the women's prison in Quito was not as extreme as that in the men's prisons, the number of inmates there also exceeded its capacity. Officials indicated that the El Inca Center was designed to house 350 inmates; on the day of the Commission's visit, it housed 374 inmates and some 80 children. The women's center in Guayaquil was stated to have a capacity of 80 prisoners, but housed 209 prisoners as well as approximately 70 children at the time the delegation visited this facility.

The situation of overcrowding is widely acknowledged to stem from the chronic delay which characterizes all aspects of the criminal justice system. The Government reiterated this assessment in its observations with respect to this report. During the Commission's on site visit, several prison officials conceded that most inmates in preventive detention have to wait at least two years for a determination of the accusations against them. The proportion of inmates within the system who have yet to be convicted or sentenced is in excess of two thirds of the prison population.(8) A significant factor in the increasing number of detainees is the rise in arrests for drug-related offenses.

Many of the penal facilities are antiquated. The Garcia Moreno Center, for example, was built in the 1870's. There is a marked deterioration in the condition of these older structures, and the physical plant is archaic. Moreover, these facilities were not designed to accommodate the number of inmates currently interned, and are simply inadequate to the task. It has also been reported that the space available in the older facilities is often poorly laid out or inefficiently allocated.

The Commission observed obviously unsanitary and unhygienic conditions in several of the Centers visited, particularly with respect to inmate areas with nonfunctioning plumbing, and received consistent reports on the lack of sanitation and hygiene facilities. Such conditions jeopardize the health of those interned, and in some cases raise concern as to compliance with Article 5 of the American Convention, which requires that detainees "shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person." ALDHU has reported that the drinkable water and electricity provided are insufficient to meet the needs of the facilities.(9) An ALDHU survey of prisoners indicated that some did not have regular access to such basic services as showers or laundry facilities.(10)

The general conditions and organization of the women's prisons are somewhat better than in the other facilities. In its observations on the present report, the Government noted that, according to a 1996 study carried out by the Association of Women Lawyers of Ecuador, the population of women's centers is much more consistent with capacity. Nonetheless, it may be noted that fire extinguishers were among the necessities that inmates reported were lacking in the Guayaquil women's facility.

The Social Rehabilitation Center Directors interviewed indicated that 1500 sucres (or U.S. .70 cents) are budgeted to provide three meals a day for each prisoner. Interviews with detainees and members of NGO's with knowledge of the prison system indicate that prisoners often depend on family members to bring them food to supplement the insufficient quality and quantity provided in the facilities. Prisoners reported that those who could not rely on family or friends to supply additional food suffered as a result of the inadequate nutrition. The Commission received repeated complaints about the inadequate quality and quantity of the food.

The conditions observed by the Commission during its in loco observation varied from facility to facility, and in some cases from area to area within a facility. For example, the pavilions within the former García Moreno Prison varied noticeably, with the conditions in the area which had been dedicated to the activities of the Confraternidad Carcelaria program being the best within the facility.(11) The study carried out by ALDHU indicated that conditions within the penal system vary widely even from cell to cell, in that prisoners who had more economic resources enjoyed far better conditions of detention.(12) ALDHU concluded that "[t]hose deprived of liberty are submitted to a regime of privilege [such as better cells or access to workshops] or punishment, according to their economic power, or the benefits they are able to offer to the guards."(13)

The Commission has also received information that prisoners housed in Center No. 4 enjoy vastly enhanced conditions of detention. The Commission visited this facility, which had only recently been opened. This Center, formerly a private home, had been donated by the National Police to the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation for 20 years.(14) It has a projected capacity of 35-40, but at the time of the Commission's visit housed only 11 inmates. The majority of the inmates were former members of the National Police who have since been convicted of responsibility in the disappearance of the Restrepo brothers. Although facilities in Ecuador are segregated by sex, one of the inmates housed in Center No. 4 was female - an exceptional circumstance. The facility was clean, well kept, and with far better physical plant than any of the others the Commission viewed. In stark contrast to the other penal facilities, each room housed only one inmate.

 

The Availability of Medical and Psychological Treatment to Prisoners

The Commission received a number of complaints from inmates and members of non-governmental organizations concerning the inadequate medical attention available in the prisons. Non-governmental sources told the Commission that the medical services offered in the facilities are "minimal." Center No. 1 in Quito and the men's facility in Guayaquil reportedly have health clinics; however, these are poorly supplied in terms of equipment and medicine. A number of facilities have not contracted the services of a permanent attending physician.(15) In general, the medical and dental care offered is not programmed or structured, and is available within the facilities only on an ambulatory patient basis.

It has also been reported that because of spatial and other limitations, prisoners with contagious illnesses remain housed in the general population.(16) It would also appear, based on information received in several facilities, that inmates are not screened for contagious illnesses upon entering a facility.

In response to a Commission inquiry about the medical condition of a particular inmate suffering from prostrate cancer and the availability of treatment, a prison official at Center No. 1 informed the Commission that Directors were not generally authorized to send inmates outside the facility for medical care. Such transfers could only be authorized by the National Directorate. When an inmate requires medical attention beyond that available inside the facility, a medical examination must first be performed on the intern inside the facility. The results are sent to the Directorate, which then sends its own doctor to inspect the patient. The results of this examination determine whether the Directorate authorizes the transfer. Only in the case of a dire emergency could a facility Director transfer a prisoner to the hospital without having followed this procedure. This procedure obviously places bureaucratic obstacles above the health of the prisoner, and seriously infringes on the provision of basic and required services.

The Commission is currently processing a case in which the petitioners allege that an individual in preventive detention, who had in fact been identified by relevant officials as requiring specialized medical and psychological care, did not receive the treatment he needed in a timely manner due to obstacles encountered in the prison system. It is further alleged that the failure to provide this treatment directly caused the detainee's death.

Apart from the foregoing case, the Commission has received information which points out serious structural barriers to the provision of adequate psychiatric and medical treatment to prisoners. A study on the prison system from 1989 to 1993 indicated that two facilities offer special units for the treatment of inmates with mental illness.(17) Inmates suffering from mental illness must be transferred from their regular facility to either of these units for treatment, and returned when they improve. The study reports that the state psychiatric hospitals will not accept prisoners as patients due to the tension and fear they may generate in other patients.(18) The Lorenzo Ponce Hospital in Guayaquil, and the San Lazaro and Julio Endara Hospitals in Quito reportedly indicated to penitentiary officials that, while they would offer ambulatory care to inmates with mental illness, the facilities would not admit them on an inpatient basis.(19) Thus, mentally ill inmates requiring critical or specialized medical care have few options. The foregoing indications suggest that the physical and mental integrity of inmates seriously in need of specialized treatment for mental or bodily illness are gravely jeopardized by the lack of such care.

 

Rehabilitation

Article 22(19)(c) of the Constitution sets forth that the objective of the penal system is the "reeducation, rehabilitation and social reincorporation of the convicts." The system is, in theory, based on individualized treatment, and a progressive regime of rehabilitation. Article 22 of the Code of Penal Enforcement sets forth separate progressive regimes to be followed in maximum, medium and minimum security rehabilitation centers that refer to levels of discipline, work, education and treatment. Although the law is oriented to encourage the rehabilitation of prisoners, few of the detention facilities have the human or material resources available for education or training programs. A comprehensive study of the penal system carried out by ALDHU concluded that in practice there was no meaningful social rehabilitation or progress toward reincorporation in society within the system.(20)

Aside from the question of state-sponsored rehabilitation, the Commission noted some innovative private efforts within certain facilities in Quito. The Commission was able to observe the private religiously-oriented program (denominated as Christian) for inmates in Center No. 1 that is run by the Confraternidad Carcelaria del Ecuador. The objective of the program, called APAC and initiated in June 1992, is to facilitate the prisoner's progression through a series of steps toward rehabilitation. The Commission observed somewhat improved conditions in the area of the prison, Pavilion C, that had been set aside for those wishing to participate in the program. The program is said to incorporate several hundred prisoners from its first through last stages. Only those who reached a higher stage within the program were eligible for the privilege of transfer to the area known as "Hogar San Pablo." This area had been remodelled and initiated shortly before the Commission's visit. There was sufficient space per intern, the interns were able to move freely from room to room within this area, sanitary conditions were greatly improved, and there was a clean and apparently well stocked medical dispensary. At the time of the Commission's visit, 26 prisoners were housed in this area, with the expectation that between 60 to 70 inmates would eventually be housed there. The Confraternidad Carcelaria is supported by the efforts of volunteer priests, doctors, lawyers, social workers and others, and reportedly operates smaller programs in the Quito Women's Prison and in a facility in Guayaquil as well.

The information received indicates that rehabilitation opportunities within the Ecuadorean penal system are, at best, available on a very uneven basis. While some facilities have workshops or offer basic education, others don't, or offer these services only to some inmates. Some, albeit limited, efforts have been made to educate and train detainees within the system. The women's prison in Quito, which is generally better organized than the other facilities, reportedly offers some academic and vocational training for its inmates. Officials in Guayaquil reported that the women's facility there offered the possibility of obtaining a technical high school diploma. One group of prisoners in the Center No. 1 in Quito indicated that it had initiated efforts at self-rehabilitation that included studying and working, in order to facilitate their eventual reintegration into society.

While the Code of Penal Enforcement mandates that all inmates must work, in practice this is not the case. A prison official at the Calle Ambato facility indicated that approximately half of the inmates worked in their cells, making shoes or doing carpentry, or performing services such as cutting hair for other inmates.(21) There was, he said, simply no physical space to house work or training areas. In addition to the lack of space, there is a lack of materials or machinery, and a lack of personnel trained to direct such activities.(22) Inmates in several of the facilities visited indicated that they had no workshop or area where they could earn even a minimal income while incarcerated. The opportunities for work that exist in the Centers are reportedly poorly remunerated.(23) The delegation did see scattered work activity inside inmates' cells during its evening visit to Center No. 3. In the Ambato facility, although it was a weekday, the inmates the Commission saw were sitting or lying in their bunks in their cells (there was simply no other space to occupy). Nor did the Commission observe any work activities during its visit to Center No. 1. In its observations on the present report, the Government noted that the latter facility has workshops for carpentry, mechanics and handicrafts, but their capacity is insufficient in relation to the number of inmates.

 

The Failure to Segregate those Accused of Offenses from those Already Convicted

Pursuant to the Constitutional specification that the objective of the penal system is the rehabilitation and reincorporation into society of the offender, Article 14 of the Code of Penal Enforcement sets forth a progressive regime, which is based on the concept of individualization of treatment, and the classification of the individual and of the facilities. Article 16 of the Code specifies the diagnostic and prognostic criteria to be taken into account in determining an inmate's placement within the system, for example, the nature of the offense, the prisoner's background, medical and psychological state, and his or her dangerousness. Upon admission, each inmate is to be placed in an observation pavilion for up to 15 days, during which time the diagnostic and prognostic evaluations are performed.

Although the Code of Penal Enforcement provides for a system of classification pursuant to a sophisticated series of evaluations, in practice it is widely acknowledged that most of the facilities house a mix of inmates, the majority of whom are awaiting trial, some of whom are awaiting sentence, and the remainder of whom are serving sentences. Article 5.4 of the American Convention directs that "[a]ccused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be segregated from convicted persons, and shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons. This protection is closely related to the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, which is set forth in Article 8.2 of the Convention. The separation of accused from convicted prisoners is also essential as a means of protecting the physical and mental integrity of those who have not been judged guilty of a crime.(24)

The Commission's in loco observation of seven of the country's penal facilities confirmed that, in fact, those accused and those convicted are not housed separately. While those accused as dangerous offenders are to be immediately placed in maximum security, it was apparent from speaking with inmates that those accused of crimes against persons were held with those accused of nonviolent crimes and lesser offenses. The intermingling of those accused of drug-related crimes, assault, minor offenses, and murder were reported in the facilities for women as well as those for men. Several prison officials confirmed to the Commission that pre-trial detainees are not separated from those who have been convicted.

The proper classification of prisoners is essential for protecting those who are not dangerous to themselves or others from those who are or are likely to be. The information received by the Commission, as well as its on site observation, confirm that efforts at proper classification are the exception rather than the rule.

 

The Situation of Children Housed with an Incarcerated Parent

During the Commission's visit, officials at the women's facility in Quito stated that there were approximately 80 children housed there with their detained mothers, and officials at the women's facility in Guayaquil indicated that approximately 70 children were housed there under the same circumstance. A brief report from the National Director of Social Rehabilitation, transmitted to the IACHR by a local organization, indicated that one of the most crucial problems for the Directorate was the housing of the children of inmates in the facilities. He reported that the number of children housed with a prisoner-parent nationally was approximately 400. In some cases the relative or guardian who had been caring for the child of a prisoner could no longer do so and returned the child to the parent in the penal facility for lack of another custodian. In other cases women are pregnant when incarcerated.

The ALDHU survey of facilities throughout the country reported that a small percentage of inmates in each locality surveyed had their children housed with them in the facility. Most of these children were identified as being under six years of age, but there were instances of children between seven and 12, and a few between 13 and 18, being housed with a parent in a penitentiary. The women's facilities in Quito and Guayaquil reportedly have nurseries for children from one to three years of age. In some of the other centers, minors are sent out of the penitentiary to a daily care facility. It was reported that the older children generally leave the facility to attend school during the day, and return in the evening. The Commission has also received information that an NGO in Guayaquil and the United Nations in Quito have established special residential homes for the minor children of incarcerated parents near the respective Centers in order to facilitate visits.

Concern for these children has been expressed because of the dearth of human and material resources allocated to the social rehabilitation system.(25) While a number of NGO's provide assistance for these minors, their actions are not programmed, and their resources also tend to be scarce. If children are to be housed in penal facilities with a parent, adequate safeguards must be in place to ensure their physical, mental and moral integrity.

Article 19 of the American Convention requires that minor children be accorded the protection consistent with their condition. Ecuador is also a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Commission affirms in this regard that the best interests of the child must prevail as the standard for decision-making with respect to state policy concerning children, who naturally require access to proper nutrition, health and educational services for their development.(26) At the time of the Commission's visit, it was clear that, particularly in the urban facilities, but to some extent throughout the system, the infrastructure, nutrition, and medical services available to prisoners were insufficient and would be even more inadequate in terms of meeting the needs of any children housed there.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Prison officials uniformly pointed to delays in the criminal justice system as impeding the performance of the social rehabilitation system. The fact that the majority of the prison population has not been convicted or sentenced makes the segregation of those accused from those already convicted very difficult, if not impossible under the current circumstances. The delays lead to overcrowding, which stresses facilities and resources which are inadequate to support the increased numbers, which in turn leads to friction among inmates and between the inmate population and authorities.

The system is reported by all who have contact with it to be grossly under-funded. The budget allocated to fund the system was reportedly reduced in 1993 and 1994, and the system was operating under a deficit in 1994. Funding relies largely on a five percent penalty imposed on checks returned for insufficient funds, along with some income from property sales, fines imposed by the Police, and limited national and local government support. The sources of income are clearly insufficient for the tasks assigned to the system. The directors, technicians and guards are reportedly poorly paid, trained and equipped. An ALDHU survey of prison personnel indicated that 70% of the directors, 83% of the technicians and 88% of the guides felt they did not have the basic resources to carry out their work.(27) Prison guards reportedly receive no special training to respond to the challenges they face in the facilities.(28)

The State bears the responsibility for ensuring that this system is adequately funded, and accorded the resources required to meet the basic needs of detainees. It must be emphasized that the State is responsible for organizing the apparatus of justice in a manner which ensures that the rights of individuals within the judicial system are respected. The Commission has noted, based on the observations submitted by the Government, that some measures have been taken to construct new prison installations, remodel others and increase workshops and educational opportunities. The Government reported that childcare facilities have been established in the women's prisons in Quito and Guayaquil.

The American Convention on Human Rights, as well as the other international conventions to which Ecuador is a party, require that persons deprived of their liberty be treated humanely, and with respect for the dignity inherent in their status as human beings. The American Convention also requires that those accused of offenses are segregated from those who have already been convicted. Prison conditions must provide inmates with conditions of life which are in accordance with these guarantees.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

In view of its on site observation of a number of Ecuadorean detention facilities, and in light of its study of cases and general information related to the situation of detainees, the Commission considers it opportune to make the following recommendations:

Additional resources should be accorded to the institutions responsible for implementing the social rehabilitation system of Ecuador.

With respect to the physical conditions of detention:

Every inmate must have access to drinkable water and to sanitary and well maintained facilities adequate for personal hygiene and health at all times.

Every inmate must have a bed with a mattress and adequate bedding.

Every inmate must be ensured an adequate daily supply of food of sufficient calories and nutrition. Adequate sustenance must not be dependent on the provision of additional food by family members.

Infliction of especially harsh physical conditions, for example the use of isolation cells without light, ventilation, bedding or toilets, for the purpose of punishment must be eliminated.

The State must ensure that such medical and psychological care as is needed is readily obtainable, and must ensure that individuals who pose a serious risk of harming themselves and/or others receive the specialized treatment required.

Measures should be taken to ensure that, as a rule, accused persons are segregated from persons already convicted.

Integrated efforts must be taken to ease the critical situation of overcrowding, which may rise to the level of inhuman treatment in some cases, and exacerbates tensions within detention facilities. Measures taken by the authorities, including the 1993-94 census of the penitentiaries and the measures taken to enforce the requirement of a written order to admit an inmate to a detention facility, are a start and should be continued.

Additional measures are required, and must include ensuring that any inmate who has not been tried or sentenced within a reasonable time is released pending the continuation of proceedings, as well as a restructuring of the bail system to make it more proportionate and equitable.

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1. Also of special relevance are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Ecuador is a Party; the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners; and the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by Resolution 43/173 (Dec. 9, 1988).

2. Asociación Latinoamericana para los Derechos Humanos [ALDHU], Informe Final -- "Diagnostico del Sistema Penitenciario del Ecuador y lineamientos para su Reforma", 86 (1992-93)(stating that according to their figures, 78.83% were between 15 and 39 years old; 6.17% between 15 and 19; 44.47% between 20 and 29; and 28.19% between 30 and 39).

3. The preamble of the Act, not included in its codification, expressed this purpose.

4. One prison Director told the Commission delegation quite frankly that, as long as detainees charged with drug-related offenses were excluded from the protections against undue pre-trial and pre-sentencing delay, the situation of delay and prison overcrowding would continue to be critical.

5. The figures that follow in the text are taken from a table designed by G. Narváez, based on figures available to December, 1993 from the National Directorate of Social Rehabilitation, as printed in, G. Narváez, Breve Estudio del Sistema Penitenciario Ecuatoriano (Quinquenio 1989 - 1993). See tables 4.1 for number of inmates as of the first half of 1994; table 5 for projected capacity figures.

6. "Abatidos dos reclusos," Diario el Universo, 28 de octubre de 1994.

7. Officials at the Calle Ambato Prison displayed to the Commission delegation the substantial number of crude blades and other weapons which had been confiscated from prisoners over the year, and referred to a recent incident of violence.

8. See, G. Narváez, supra note 4, at 9.

9. Id. at 82.

10. Id., at volume two, Annex 2 (reporting statistics per facility -- in Guayaquil, for example, 47% of the inmates reported having access to showers, and 52% to laundry facilities; in Quito those figures were 61% and 75% respectively).

11. The program is described in the section titled "Rehabilitation," which follows.

12. ALDHU, supra note 1, at 58.

13. Id. at 83.

14. An agreement signed between a National Police foundation and the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation on September 2, 1994 recorded various understandings concerning this facility. Clause 5.6 of the agreement, for example, called for the Police foundation to deliver 800 million sucres for the monthly maintenance of the building, until the new Social Rehabilitation budget entered into force.

15. ALDHU, supra note 2, at 58.

16. G. Narváez, supra note 4, at 13.

17. Id.

18. Id. at 12-13.

19. Id.

20. ALDHU, supra note 2, at 57, and anexo 2 (reporting as well that the vast majority of prisoners felt that inmates in their facility would not be rehabilitated).

21. Inmate responses to an ALDHU national prison survey indicated that approximately 61.49% of them engaged in some form of work while in prison; 41.38% indicated that they received some remuneration. The ALDHU report indicated, however, that subsequent investigation indicated that this figure was inflated, and that approximately 25% of the inmates were actually "immersed in the world of work." ALDHU, supra note 2, at 88.

22. G. Narváez, supra note 4, at 16. Other efforts to facilitate rehabilitation through work reportedly failed because of lack of support. For example, it was reported that an integrated plan of action for work education was developed in 1993, but was discontinued due to lack of collaboration on the part of penitentiary personnel.

23. See, id., see also ALDHU, supra note 2, at 58.

24. An anecdotal report received during the on site visit indicated that a man detained in the Provisional Detention Center in Quito was killed because he would not give another detainee his watch.

25. ALDHU, see annex 2, compilation of answers to questions 4.3-4.5. Inmates were surveyed as to whether children were housed with them; if so, of what age group; and what, if any, services were available to the children.

26. Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child set forth that "the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration" in all actions taken concerning children.

27. ALDHU, p. 84.

28. Id., p. 86.