Foreign Ministry signs agreement with US organization HIAS for refugees in Ecuador

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (MREMH) and the foreign non-governmental organization HIAS, INC. signed the Basic Operating Agreement CBF-MREMH-2026-006, which formally enables the entity to execute assistance programs for refugees and populations in human mobility in Ecuador. The instrument was signed on October 20, 2026, in Quito, with a validity of four years, and was published in the Fifth Supplement of the Official Registry No. 403 on Thursday, November 5, 2026, on page 2. The publication formalizes the organization’s operation in the country and establishes its obligations regarding control, transparency, and accountability.

The agreement was signed by the Vice Minister of International Cooperation, Angélica Patricia Arias Benavides, on behalf of the Ecuadorian State, and by Maricela Parra Álvarez, legal representative in Ecuador of HIAS, INC., a non-profit private law legal entity constituted under the legislation of the United States. The authority to sign stems from Article 10 of Ministerial Agreement No. 0000034, dated April 21, 2026, and Article 14 of Executive Decree No. 191, dated November 21, 2025, which requires foreign non-profit organizations to have authorization from the ministry in charge of foreign relations through a reasoned resolution and a basic operating agreement.

The prior authorization is contained in Resolution No. MREMH-VCI-2026-0006-R, dated October 13, 2026, published in the Third Supplement of the Official Registry No. 396 on October 23, 2026. The file began with an official letter from the legal representative dated April 24, 2024, with technical and legal documentation delivered on October 18, 2024, and was supported by Technical Report IT-MREMH-2024-026 and legal criteria MREMH-DAJPDN-2025-0083-M, dated February 14, 2025, and MREMH-DAJPDN-2026-0525-M, dated July 27, 2026.

Areas of intervention and modalities of cooperation

The purpose of HIAS, INC., according to its statutes included in the agreement, is to protect the most vulnerable refugees and ensure that displaced persons are treated with dignity. Its programs will be executed as non-reimbursable international cooperation for the care of refugees and populations in human mobility in situations of vulnerability and for host communities, in the following areas:

• Psychosocial assistance and mental health.
• Humanitarian assistance in emergencies and food assistance.
• Children and adolescents, and gender diversity.
• Economic and social integration, and labor linkage.
• University scholarships and cash transfer programs.
• Specific needs such as gender-based violence.

The planned modalities are the training of Ecuadorian human resources through technical cooperation, scholarships, courses, and seminars; the non-reimbursable provision of machinery, tools, materials, equipment, and goods; the exchange of knowledge and technical information with public and private entities; and humanitarian assistance in disaster contexts.

Validity, controls, and obligations

The agreement is valid for four years from its signing, without automatic renewal; the organization may request a new instrument at least 180 days prior to expiration, and there is a single extension of up to one year if it decides to leave the country. Obligations include:

• Registering in the Unified Information System for Non-Profit Social Organizations (SUIOS).
• Notifying the MREMH within a maximum period of 15 days of any change in legal representation, statutes, address, or contact details.
• Obtaining registration with the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE) within 30 days and reporting monthly to that entity, with a primary and alternate compliance officer.
• Implementing integrity, due diligence, and financial control schemes according to the risk level assigned by the Superintendency of Popular and Solidarity Economy (SEPS).
• Submitting management and resource use reports on an annual or biennial basis, and project files with planned amounts within 30 days, updated by March 31 of each year.
• Complying with the Code of Ethics and immediately reporting evidence of illegal mining.

The MREMH, for its part, must publish the general information of the NGO on its portal and the data of programs and projects in the International Cooperation Information Management System (SIGECI). For notifications, HIAS, INC. established its address at La Coruña E12-148 and Valladolid, Galley building, office 301, in Quito.

Prohibitions and dispute resolution

The instrument prohibits the organization from intervening, directly or indirectly, in activities that hinder legally authorized mining projects; non-compliance may lead to the suspension of its legal status for four years. It also forbids the purchase of land in protected natural areas or the provision of resources to acquire them, pursuant to Article 405 of the Constitution of the Republic, and being used to cover up illicit activities such as money laundering, human trafficking, arms trafficking, or environmental crimes.

Controversies shall be resolved with a mediator from the Mediation Center of the Attorney General’s Office and, should they persist, before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction based in Quito. Resolution MREMH-VCI-2026-0006-R ordered the communication of the agreement to eleven entities, including the Superintendency of Banks, the Ministry of Government, the Ministry of Public Health, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute.

The agreement makes HIAS, INC. a formally recognized actor in the Ecuadorian humanitarian response and subjects its operation to a cross-supervision regime between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the SEPS, and the UAFE. For readers, the document establishes for the first time in the Official Registry the areas, deadlines, and limits under which the organization may assist refugees and people in human mobility over the next four years.

Source: Official Registry, Fifth Supplement No. 403, November 5, 2026, Executive Branch, p. 2 (official reference: CBF-MREMH-2026-006).