Margoth Escobar
Margoth Escobar is a well-known environmental and indigenous rights defender and has worked since the 1970s in the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples from the Amazon region. Her work as a human rights defender began when she participated in the establishment of the Provincial Union of Peasant Organizations of Manabi (Unión Provincial de Organizaciones Campesinas de Manabí) in 1975, an organisation which has played a major role in the recovery of the lands of several rural families in the Manabí province. She has also collaborated with Radio Puyo, which has been a strong voice advocating for indigenous rights in the region.
Human rights defenders have been victims of a wide range of violations in Ecuador, such as police brutality, judicial harassment, arbitrary detentions, smear campaigns, threats, harassment and the oppression of indigenous and campesino communities. Recent incidents have shown that the situation for human rights defenders in Ecuador is precarious.
