In today’s world, personal data are an essential and most valuable commodity, as well as key elements in the organisation and development of economies, societal communication and organisation, governance structures and processes, healthcare, education, and much more. The protection of personal data, in all aspects of individuals’ life and activities, is crucial to guarantee their human dignity and their self-determination. The right to privacy, and its component, the right to protection of personal data, is an enabling right to a range of other rights, such as freedom of conscious and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of association and assembly.

Following the successful conclusion of previous Council of Europe’s assistance in and Ecuador’s continued commitment to meeting international standards in key legislative areas, the Council of Europe was requested to assist with providing comprehensive support for the development of secondary data protection legislation to allow for the effective implementation of its new Personal Data Protection Organic Law (passed in May 2021) and a review of its current legislation, ultimately with a view for joining the Council of Europe’s Convention 108+.

This support will also include awareness raising and stakeholder consultation workshops on the new legislation, draft secondary legislation, and international standards in the field of data protection and privacy.

The Ecuadorian government’s commitment to international standards in the field of combatting cybercrime and providing data protection shows its recognition of the importance of addressing these issues jointly. The series of activities and deliverables envisaged under this legislative support process will be implemented in collaboration with the Council of Europe’ Data Protection Unit and Ecuador’s Data Protection National Expert Group.

The data protection legislative support process will promote the harmonization of Ecuador’s domestic legislation on data protection and privacy with the international standards in the field, including the Convention 108+ and the Budapest Convention, and assist Ecuador’s efforts towards its possible accession to Convention 108+. More specifically:

• will provide for an assessment of the current national legislation’s alignment with international standards in the field;
• will provide recommendations on amendments to current legislation and generic legal text for secondary legislation in line with international standards;
• will broaden the knowledge and understanding of the importance and implementation of Ecuador’s new data protection legislation;
• will support the drafting process of secondary legislation on data protection and privacy in line with international standards in the field.

The support will be organised in two main phases:

I. Support for legislative reform

Ecuador will receive:

• a comparative legislative analysis of the level of alignment of its legislation addressing data protection and privacy with international standards and draft recommendations on how to improve their current legislative framework;
• support for identification of areas where further data protection legislation and/or regulation is necessary;
• support in the process of drafting secondary legislation and/or regulations on data protection and privacy and suggestions for improvements in line with international standards;
• generic legal text for secondary legislation/regulations on data protection and privacy.

The analysis and the recommendations will be discussed during a debriefing workshop with Ecuador’s Data Protection National Expert Group (DP-NEG) (organised as a workshop of up to 2 days). Several other sessions can be organized during this phase, as part of the support with the wider consultation/ validation process of the proposed draft legislation and regulations.

II. Awareness Raising and consultative Workshops

Pursuant to Ecuador authorities’ assessment of the expert analysis and recommendations in PHASE 1, the Council of Europe will organise a series of workshops, with a broad range of objectives:

1. 2.1. An introductory workshop on international standards on data protection and privacy for the Ecuadorian Government – up to 2 days;
2. 2.2. An awareness raising and public-private cooperation workshop on data protection and privacy international standards, Ecuador’s current Personal Data Protection Organic Law (provisions and implementation), and drafting recommendations for DP-NEG on necessary secondary data protection legislation – 2 & ½ days;
3. 2.3. A stakeholders’ consultation workshop on data protection and privacy international standards, Ecuador’s current Personal Data Protection Organic Law (provisions and implementation), and draft national secondary legislation on data protection and privacy – up to 3 days.

The decisions taken in workshops 2.1 and 2.2 will be captured in the final version of the comparative legislative analysis table and the situation report submitted by the COE experts.