Atacames and the community.164 However, when giving his statement, Mr. Andrés Alejandro
Casierra Quiñonez indicated that said plaque "is deteriorated," and that "the letters are no longer
visible.”165
196. In this regard, given the value that the commemorative plaque entails for the dignity of the
victims, as part of the efforts undertaken by Ecuador to guarantee comprehensive reparations,
the Court orders the State to proceed to refurbish said plaque to include a reference to the case
in the final report of the Truth Commission and information relating to the violations of rights
declared in this Judgment. The State has one year from the notification of the Judgment to comply
with the order.
E. Guarantees of non-repetition
197. The Commission requested that the State be ordered to establish adequate accountability
mechanisms for abuses committed by members of the security forces.
198. The representatives requested that the State be ordered to promulgate a “[l]aw that
regulates the use of force throughout its territory […] applicable to any corporation authorized to
use firearms.”
199. The State argued that, currently, military personnel are subject to the Manual of Law in
military operations, which was approved by Agreement of the Ministry of National Defense and
has been in force since 2014, "which details the procedures applicable to the progressive use of
force." Although in 2020 said Ministry issued the Regulation for the progressive, rational, and
differentiated use of force by members of the Armed Forces, this was declared to be
unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2021. It added that currently “the National
Assembly is processing a draft [o]rganic Law for the [l]egal, [p]roportional, [a]ppropriate, and
[ne]cessary use of force and a draft [o]rganic law [on] the [p]rogressive, [a]ppropriate, and
[proportional] use of [f]orce,” adding that the President of the Republic presented the draft
“[o]rganic Law of [comprehensive] security and [strengthening of the [p]ublic [forces],” which
would regulate “the use of force by the State and the agents that make up the public force.”
200. The Inter-American Court takes note of the information provided by the State and the efforts
undertaken to regulate the parameters that should govern the use of force by agents of the
security forces. Here, the Court’s analysis cannot include the “Law Manual on Military Operations”
issued by the Ministry of National Defense, given that because of its date of validity, it was not
applied to the instant case. However, it is noted that the ministerial authority itself did mention
the need to regulate, in precise terms and through additional regulations, issues relating to the
"progressive, rational, and differentiated use of force" by military personnel. This explains why
efforts were made for said regulation to be included in infralegal regulations,166 though it ended
up being declared unconstitutional in 2021. According to the State, three draft “Organic Laws” are
currently being processed within the legislature. Such laws are aimed at regulating such
parameters within the framework of the actions of the different agents of the public forces so that
such parameters are not limited to members of the military. Given the information provided, the
Court has inferred that Ecuador currently lacks legal regulations with the scope and nature
Cf. Follow-up report on measures in favor of Andrés Alejandro Casierra Quiñonez, issued by the Ombudsman
on March 21, 2021 (evidence file, volume X, annex 54 to the answering brief, folio 5075); follow-up report on
measures in favor of Sebastián Darlin Casierra Quiñonez, issued by the Ombudsman on March 21, 2021 (evidence
file, volume X, annex 55 to the answering brief, folio 5092), and follow-up report on measures in favor of María
Ingracia Quiñonez Bone, issued by the Ombudsman on March 21, 2021 (evidence file, volume X, annex 56 to the
answering brief, folio 5100).
165
Cf. Testimony by Andrés Alejandro Casierra Quiñonez, given at a public hearing before this Court.
164
Cf. Regulations for the progressive, rational and differentiated use of force by members of the Armed Forces,
Ministerial Agreement No. 179, issued by the Ministry of National Defense and published on May 29, 2020 (evidence
file, volume X , annex 47 to the answering brief, folios 4995 to 5003).
166
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