Violación de los derechos humanos por la desnutrición infantil en Ecuador.

Abstract

In Ecuador, chronic child malnutrition highlights one of the country’s most profound issues: the sustained violation of fundamental human rights, specifically regarding the rights to health, adequate food, and a dignified life. The consequences are severe, as it directly impairs children’s comprehensive development altering their physical growth and behavior, thereby severely limiting their opportunities, and undermining the nation’s development prospects. This thesis aims to analyze chronic child malnutrition from a human right’s legal perspective, focusing specifically on its relationship with the state’s obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of minors. Utilizing an analytical and critical approach, this study thoroughly examines international standards on the right to food, the structural determinates of child malnutrition, and the efficacy of public policies implemented in Ecuador in recent years. The methodology employed is qualitative, drawing on dogmatic legal analysis and documentary research of legal doctrine, international reports, and empirical studies through a comprehensive literature review. The findings reveal that structural deficiencies linked to governance models, territorial inequalities, policy fragmentation, and insufficient accountability continuously jeopardize children’s right to food in Ecuador. In conclusion, eradicating chronic child malnutrition requires establishing a comprehensive legal framework centered on human rights, thereby strengthening state action based on principles of legal enforceability, substantive equality, and public accountability.