The South American country, which straddles the Equator, was subject to military rule during the 20th century and only restored its democracy in 1979. According to Human Rights Watch, it has been plagued by corruption for many years.
Its current President, Rafael Correa, has been accused of using legislative powers to silence journalists criticising his administration, and has prosecuted critics for defamation.
In May 2011, President Correa won a referendum vote to push ahead with plans to increase the government's powers to appoint judges, raising concerns over judicial independence.
The move also posed further restrictions to free speech, which was already limited under the Ecuadorean criminal code, criminalising anyone who offended the President or other government officials.
Later that year, a judge awarded President Correa $40 million in damages and sentenced four men to three years in prison for a defamatory article.
It was claimed El Universo, an opposition newspaper, had libelled the President in a column that questioned an army raid to rescue him from striking policemen. In the article, the President was referred to as a "dictator". The author of the column, Emilio Palacio, called the sentence "a barbarity."
President Correa had already sued two journalists in February over a book entitled The Big Brother, which made allegations of nepotism. The authors claimed the President's brother had won lucrative government construction contracts with his full knowledge.
The Correa government also used 151 hours of broadcasting time to air state messages denouncing its critics, Human Rights Watch said.
Last October, Amnesty International voiced concerns that the criminal justice system was being used to cut down on protests after the president of the Indigenous and Peasant Federation of Imbabura was arrested for protesting in the street.
In a public statement, the human rights organisation said: "Amnesty International believes that the Ecuadorean State is using the criminal justice system to curb protest, thereby weakening freedom of expression and association.
"Ecuador should create the necessary conditions whereby all sectors of society can exercise their right to protest."
Suspicions of corruption in Ecuador were also laid bare with the release of thousands of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks.
In them, the US Ambassador Heather Hodges wrote: "corruption among Ecuadorean National Police officers is widespread and well-known" with corruption becoming "more pronounced at higher levels of power".
She specifically indicated President Correa was aware of police corruption, and named former police chief Jaime Hurtado Vaca. Ambassador Hodges was expelled in April 2011.
As well as a poor record on free speech, Ecuador is accused of failing to meet other human rights.
Until 1998, homosexuality was illegal and despite legalising same-sex unions in 2008, there have been reports of corrective therapy centres in which gay women are raped.
Ecuadorean authorities have also failed to offer protection to workers illegally dismissed for union activity under the Andean Trade Preference Act.
"Ecuador continues to fail to take its workers' rights problem seriously," Carol Pier, labour rights and trade researcher for Human Rights Watch, said in 2005.
"Ecuador made impressive promises on workers' rights before receiving expanded U.S. trade benefits in 2002, but since then, it has produced few real results."
In February 2010, the UN also said child exploitation still existed in the country, with child labour and domestic servitude blighting its efforts to develop.
“I am very concerned about the dire conditions of refugees and asylum-seekers and wish to stress that the Government is responsible for their protection and the restoration of their rights,” said Gulnara Shahinian, UN Special Rapporteur on modern slavery.
“Urgent measures are required to protect and restore the rights of these people and to create an environment conducive to the elimination of labour exploitation and slavery in these areas.”
She added: “Child labour in all its forms is an obstacle to the development of Ecuador where a high percentage of the population are children."