A year ago, Ecuador held a historic popular consultation in which 59% of more than ten million voters voted in favor of banning oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Parka protected natural area of 10,200 km² located in the Amazon basin in the northeast of that country.
Following the outcome of the consultation, the Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ordered the country’s authorities to dismantle the oil plant of the Park within a period of one year, which will expire on August 31.
However, the The plant’s oil production is now higher that during the first half of 2024 and some reports indicate that new wells would be opened. In addition, the Ministry of Economy and Finance indicated this week that the closure of the wells in Yasuní would take three to five years.
Faced with this news, a group of UN human rights experts* expressed great concern on Tuesday and urged the government and companies operating in Yasuní Park to urgently implement the popular will and accelerate the transition process.
Clear message
“Through the vote, the Ecuadorian nation sent a clear message to the government: Ecuador must prioritize the protection of the climate, the environment and indigenous peoples that depend on it, and move away from an economic model based on the depletion of natural resources and the extraction of fossil fuels,” the special rapporteurs said.
Yasuní National Park, one of the places with greatest biodiversity on Earthis a sanctuary for countless species and home to indigenous peoples, including people in voluntary isolation, who have preserved their way of life for centuries.
In a joint statement, the experts stressed that the Park is vital to regulating the climate and that Its protection will prevent millions of additional emissions of greenhouse gases.
They regretted that, despite the clear mandate of the Ecuadorian population and the Constitutional Court, progress in the implementation of the results of the popular consultation has been slow.
The future of the environment depends on today’s decisions
In this regard, they warned that any Delay or deviation from the voting mandate risks “undermining environmental protection” and climate action efforts, the integrity of Ecuador’s democratic processes and threatening human rights.”
“As a result of the vote, Existing and future projects must be stopped and dismantledand the environment restored. The future of Yasuní National Park, its inhabitants, future generations and the global environment depends on the measures taken today,” they stressed.
In this regard, they requested that Maintain dialogue with civil society and indigenous peoples to ensure that their voices are heard and their rights are respected throughout the entire process.
Experts said they were aware that the exploitation of the plant Yasuní contributes 13% of the national crude oil production and that its closure is costly and complicated, but they called on the government to comply with legal obligations, move forward with a fair transition, including financing development through other means, without evading the decision of the people.
Regarding alternative media, they said that they are being considered in the Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rightsand in one Open letter sent to the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboafollowing his election in October 2023.
The experts who signed the statement are: Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; Fernanda Hopenhaym, Pichamon Yeophantong, Damilola Olawuyi, Robert McCorquodale and Lyra Jakulevičienė, from the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises; Marcos A. Orellana, Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of substances and wastes dangerousAstrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
* Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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