Paulina Muñoz Samaniego
Paulina Muñoz Samaniego is a women's rights defender and has been working at the Colectivo de Mujeres Acción Política since 2000. She has also been active in raising awareness about the impact of free trade agreements on vulnerable groups in Ecuador. She is a member of the network of social organisations called Ecuador Decide, which opposes the current negotiations of a free trade agreement between Ecuador and the European Union (EU).
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.
