THE UDAPT

La Unión de Afectados y Afectadas por las Operaciones Petroleras de Texaco – UDAPT es la organización que reúne y representa a las comunidades afectadas por la contaminación petrolera de la transnacional Chevron, antes Texaco, en juicio contra la petrolera por los daños ocasionados en las provincias ecuatorianas de Sucumbíos y Orellana.

The UDAPT is directly formed by those affected under a struggle of efforts in search of the repair of the contaminated area. Specifically, it is made up of communities belonging to 6 indigenous nationalities (Waorani, Siekopaai, Siona, A´I Kofan, Shuar and Kichwa) and nearly 80 peasant communities.

Its mission is "To make a dignified, healthy and pollution-free life a reality, by repairing the damages provoked by the violation of human rights caused by the oil operations of Texaco, now Chevron, in the Ecuadorian Amazon.”

Recibiendo un mandato directo de los demandantes, la UDAPT (antes ADAT) es la única organización que los representa legalmente en el largo juicio en contra de Chevron-Texaco, que en 25 años llevó a múltiples veredictos de condena de la petrolera al pago de 9,5 mil millones de dólares para que las 480.000 hectáreas de tierras y ríos contaminados puedan ser remediadas.

No se trata de una indemnización económica personal  sino de la reparación de los daños sociales, culturales y ambientales causados por Texaco (hoy Chevron) en la Amazonía norte ecuatoriana, como expresamente dictado en las sentencias. Por lo tanto, el interés de la UDAPT es colectivo y  público. Su objetivo en ganar el juicio, a fin de que haya reparación del daño ocasionado, es en beneficio de las más de 30.000 personas que pueblan el área.

While the lawsuit continued throughout the years, the need to provide direct support to those affected in the different areas became ever stronger, as they continued to suffer the impacts of the bad practices of Chevron-Texaco such as the contamination of rivers and what was once drinking water, diseases of various types, and social and cultural disintegration, among others. Therefore, in collaboration with other national and international organizations, the UDAPT began different actions and projects to support the affected communities.

The unity between indigenous nationalities and peasants represents one of UDAPT's greatest strengths. Its struggle does not have a political end but a social one; this is why we do not look at cultural, linguistic, political and ideological differences, but at the common goal of achieving justice for human rights and nature.

The first stages of political organization of the struggle of the indigenous peoples and settlers of the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana affected by oil pollution began in the '80. On November, 3rd 1993, a group of 75 indigenous and peasants , accompanied by their lawyer, filed a lawsuit against Texaco in the court of New York, thus beginning a long trial that currently takes more than 25 years .

While this was happening in the USA, in the contaminated area we began to discuss, in different instances, about how to structure the lawsuit on behalf of those affected . Under an understanding between the different indigenous communities and settlers, on May 15th, 1994 was created the Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía (FDA) as an organization in charge of managing the legal process and struggle.

In the year 2001, it was resolved to create a de facto society with the name of Assembly of Delegates of the Affected by the Petroleum Operations of Texaco, which three years later changed its name to Assembly of Affected by Texaco (ADAT). This was made up of representatives of those affected settled in the different fields that were operated by Texaco. Its objective was to represent them before public or private organizations , national and foreign, through their organic instances of representation and decision.

Sin embargo, la ADAT no representaba legalmente a los afectados, ya que se trataba de una sociedad de hecho y no de derecho. Por esta razón el FDA, que pasó a ser un miembro de la Asamblea, siguió encargándose de la administración relacionada con el caso. Esta situación generó una creciente inquietud dentro de las comunidades afectadas, debido a que se veía el riesgo que en el futuro, cuando se alcance cobrar a Chevron el pago que le fue impuesto por las cortes ecuatorianas, podrían ser beneficiarios solamente las personas pertenecientes al FDA y no todos los demandantes, quienes empezaron el juicio a nombre de todas las poblaciones afectadas.

Thus, after a long collective process, on April 24, 2012 ADAT became the Union of Affected People by the Petroleum Operations of Texaco - UDAPT, which became recognized as legal personality on April 27, 2014. Once this process was completed, the UDAPT remained the only organization fully representing the affected people by Chevron-Texaco contamination, both in the lawsuit against the oil company and in any other instance .

El abogado principal de la UDAPT y de los demandantes es Pablo Fajardo desde 2005. 

At the beginning, the Front of Defense of the Amazon formed part of the UDAPT, but by its own decision opted to withdraw and disaffiliate from the UDAPT and continue representing autonomously a part of the settlers in 2016.