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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Culture & Society

Sarayaku to report rights violations at Inter-American Court of Human Rights

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • The indigenous community of Sarayaku will inform the Inter-American Court of Human Rights about Ecuador's failure to comply with a past ruling.
  • The 2012 ruling recognized the right to free, prior, and informed consultation for indigenous peoples regarding extractive projects.
  • Sarayaku representatives will present their case regarding ongoing violations and the state's non-compliance, including the presence of explosives in their territory.

Delegates from the indigenous Sarayaku community are set to present their case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) on June 15, 2026, to report on Ecuador's non-compliance with a landmark 2012 ruling. The original sentence recognized the right to free, prior, and informed consultation for indigenous peoples concerning investment and extractive projects in their territories.

Have passed already 14 years and the State has not had the full will to comply 100% with the sentence of the Inter-American Court.

— Daniel SantiDaniel Santi, president of Sarayaku, stated that 14 years after the ruling, the state has not fully complied.

Daniel Santi, president of Sarayaku, stated that since the state concessioned an oil block in their territory in 1996, there have been numerous rights violations, primarily concerning the lack of consultation. After exhausting national legal avenues, Sarayaku took their case to the IACHR, securing a favorable ruling after more than a decade of litigation.

the violation of the rights of the Sarayaku people by the Ecuadorian State, but up to here it has not complied with what has been sentenced.

— Betsy SantiBetsy Santi, a leader of the Sarayacu people, noted that Ecuador's Constitutional Court recognized the violation of rights, but the IACHR's sentence remains unfulfilled.

Betsy Santi, a Sarayaku leader, highlighted that 14 years after the ruling, the state has not fully complied. She noted that Ecuador's Constitutional Court recognized the violation of Sarayaku rights in 2024, yet the IACHR's sentence remains largely unfulfilled. The community also points to the presence of over half a ton of explosives left buried in Sarayaku territory, a consequence of past activities.

more than half a ton of explosives have been left buried in Sarayaku territory.

— Betsy SantiBetsy Santi also pointed to the environmental hazard of explosives left in their territory.

Luis Canelos, president of the Kichwa nationality of Pastaza, emphasized that granting permits for private oil activities in ancestral territories endangers the Kichwa people's lives and integrity. He stressed that the ruling mandates comprehensive reparations and ensures that extractive activities cannot be imposed without consent. Canelos criticized Ecuador for continuing these practices and accelerating new extractive expansions despite the international decision.

and to ensure that no extractive activity can be imposed without our consent.

— Luis CanelosLuis Canelos, president of the Kichwa nationality of Pastaza, underscored the sentence's requirement for consent on extractive activities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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