<
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/ecuadors-top-court-rules-for-stronger-land-rights-for-indigenous-communities/>
"QUITO, Ecuador — Indigenous communities across Ecuador celebrated over the
weekend after a historic ruling by the country’s highest court declaring that
Indigenous communities have more autonomy over their territory and a much
stronger say over extractive projects affecting their lands.
“This has been a very big news, very important for the community, for all of us
who have been on this path,” said Nixon Andy, from the Indigenous Kofan
community of Sinangoe in Ecuador’s northern Amazon rainforest.
Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, made the ruling on
Feb. 4 after reviewing Sinangoe’s 2018 lawsuit, in which the community sued
three government ministries for selling mining concessions on their territory
without consultation. Provincial judges at the time ruled in favor of the
community and the rights of nature, overturning 52 mining concessions.
But last week, the Constitutional Court took this ruling one step further.
After reviewing the evidence and traveling to Sinangoe to hold a historic
hearing in Indigenous territory last November, the judges found there was a
violation of a number of the community’s rights. This includes their right to
be consulted before extractive projects are developed on their land.
As a result, the court ruled that the state has an obligation to ensure that
communities undergo a consultation process before any extractive activity is
planned on or near their territory. This process must also be “clear and
accessible” for the whole community, and be carried out with the purpose of
“obtaining consent or reaching an agreement with” the communities, according to
the 39-page ruling."
Via Future Crunch Feb 17, 2022:
https://futurecrunch.com/goodnews-measles-wolves-energy-down-under/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
