The United Nations has strongly condemned the assassination of a presidential candidate in Ecuador, urging authorities to investigate the crime.
Fernando Villavicencio, 59, was shot dead after leaving in the capital, Quito, on Wednesday, according to news reports.
The attack occurred just two weeks before the vote on 20 August and amid a wave of violence and crime.
The UN Country Team called for an investigation "so that there is no sense of impunity, and to redouble efforts to stop this wave of violence that is sadly affecting all the country's population," said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, speaking in New York on Thursday.
From Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the incident underscored the challenges Ecuador and its people are facing amid the violence.
"I urge the authorities to increase their efforts to strengthen protection measures for political candidates, public officers and journalists, and to protect people's lives and personal integrity in line with international human rights standards to avoid the repetition of such a tragic crime," he added.
