comply with the 2014 ruling on the issue by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. At the end of the year, tens of thousands of people remained stateless and were targeted by arbitrary restrictions on their rights to legal personality, a name, and a life free of discrimination. The majority were people of Haitian descent. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urged the Dominican Republic government to provide support to stateless persons to regularize their situation and address the effects of protracted and intergenerational statelessness. SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE Abortion remained prohibited in all circumstances. Congress failed to amend the Criminal Code to provide protection against torture, violence, and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Femicide and hate crimes were not specific criminal offences. The Committee on the Rights of the Child voiced concern over the absence of a minimum legal age for sexual consent and the high number of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse of children. EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE Excessive use of force by law enforcement officials continued to be reported, with no progress in combating impunity for these incidents. In February, a 12-year-old boy died after suffering gunshot wounds in a police operation during the carnival in the city of Santiago. Witnesses said the police failed to give him first aid. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Nuria Piera, a high-profile journalist who focuses on corruption and impunity, was targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, which enables full and unrestricted access to a device.3 It was the first confirmed case of its use in the country, but a technical analysis revealed that the first attack on her devices occurred in 2020. The Office of the Attorney The State of the World’s Human Rights General and the Ministry of Interior and Police denied involvement in the surveillance. 1. “Americas: States must end racist treatment of Haitian asylum seekers”, 20 June 2. “Dominican Republic: Authorities must end racist treatment and guarantee the right to nationality”, 22 September 3. “Dominican Republic: Pegasus spyware discovered on prominent journalist’s phone”, 2 May ECUADOR Republic of Ecuador Armed forces were deployed throughout the country and their powers in public security tasks were expanded. Violence increased in the lead up to the general elections. Human rights violations remained unpunished. The state of crisis in prisons continued. Indigenous Peoples’ rights continued to be violated. Flaring of gases during oil extraction persisted. Authorities failed to protect human rights defenders. Poverty and inequality affected much of the population and gender-based violence remained prevalent. BACKGROUND In May, faced with possible impeachment, former president Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly (Ecuador’s legislative body) and called elections for August, which culminated in run-off elections in October. Daniel Noboa was voted in as the new president, along with 137 new members of the National Assembly. The homicide rate rose sharply, and authorities responded with emergency decrees expanding the mandate of the armed forces. A constitutional reform to grant the military greater involvement in public security tasks was approved by the National Assembly in December. A national referendum to approve its implementation remained pending at the end of the year. 153