Skip to main content

Waorani nation wins historic legal battle preventing the Ecuadorian government from selling its land to fossil fuel companies

THE Waorani nation has won a historic legal battle preventing the Ecuadorian government from opening up half a million acres of their rainforest home to fossil-fuel extraction companies.

A provincial court in Pastaza province ruled on Friday that the government’s 2012 consultations with the Amerindian tribe over the selling of its land were inadequate and so violated its right to self-determination.

Both national and international law state that governments must first seek the free and informed consent of any community that could be affected by extraction projects before they begin.

“Today the courts recognise that the Waorani people, and all indigenous peoples, have rights over our territories that must be respected,” said Nemonte Nenquimo, a lawyer and member of the tribe.

“The government’s interests in oil is not more valuable than our rights, our forests, our lives,” she added.

But on Saturday Lenin Moreno’s government made it clear that it did not accept the court’s ruling.

The Ministry of Energy & Non-renewable Natural Resources said it would appeal against the court’s decision because it believes “evidence presented in the form of documents and videos which proved fulfilment of all regulations was not taken into account.”

Yesterday, however, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae), an organisation representing 1,500 first-nation communities in the country, denounced the ministry’s statement as an “act of arrogance,” an affront to the country’s legal system and an “indignant show of disrespect against the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples and the principle of self-determination.”

Confeniae said its memebrs would “remain on alert and will not allow our rights to be infringed again. [The court’s decision] represents a fundamental legal precedent for all the nationalities of the central-south Amazon … Our communities stand ready to defend our land at whatever cost.

“The dignity of the people has won against the nefarious interests of business and the state, which are obliged to respect the ruling and recognise the infringement of our rights in 2012. This is therefore a triumph for our organisation, which we will hold firmly and with conviction until the end.”

Follow #WaoraniResistance on Twitter for English updates on the Waorani struggle for environmental, political and human rights.

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today