OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR, MR
LENIN MORENO; MR IÑIGO SALVADOR, ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF ECUADOR; AND MR LUIS GALLEGOS,
CHANCELLOR OF ECUADOR
IN DEFENCE OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS AND
PEASANT COMMUNITIES AGAINST CHEVRON
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR, MR
LENIN MORENO; MR IÑIGO SALVADOR, ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF ECUADOR; AND MR LUIS GALLEGOS,
CHANCELLOR OF ECUADOR
IN DEFENCE OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS AND
PEASANT COMMUNITIES AGAINST CHEVRON
On December 16, 2020, the deadline expires for the Ecuadorian
State to reject or accept a Dutch court ruling, related to the action
for annulment of the arbitration award issued by an international
private panel based in the Netherlands in favor of Chevron, which
orders Ecuador to: rescind the ruling ratified by all judicial
instances in Ecuador, and prevent the indigenous and peasant
communities affected by Chevron’s oil operations from executing
the Ecuadorian ruling in order to seek reparations for damages in
the Ecuadorian Amazon.
If the Ecuadorian State accepts the Dutch ruling, it should
compensate Chevron with a multi-million dollar sum, for the
«damages caused to its image and the costs of the years of lawsuits
against it.» It should also intercede before other courts to prevent
the plaintiffs of Chevron Texaco from filing lawsuits against it in
other countries. If the attorney general of Ecuador does not appeal
this decision, the arbitration award in favor of Chevron will be
upheld, despite the fact that in May 2019, more than 260
organizations and social networks representing more than 280
million members on five continents had denounced this decision
as illegal and unconstitutional. This verdict would terminate the
hope for justice of those affected, and consolidate the ISDS
system (Investor-state dispute settlement), undermining the rule of
law.
Twenty-seven years ago, the communities living in the provinces
of Orellana and Sucumbíos, initiated a process against the oil
transnational Texaco (now Chevron) for the cultural, health and
environmental damages that the transnational caused while
operating in Ecuador. After a long trial, the Ecuadorian justice
system ruled in favour of the inhabitants of the Amazon,
represented by the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Oil
Operations (UDAPT). Chevron has resorted to all kinds of
manoeuvres inside and outside Ecuador to evade its responsibility.
The most recent was the appeal for annulment that Ecuador
brought before the Dutch justice system, in which the action for
annulment was denied, in the first instance. Ecuador has the right
to appeal this decision and even go to the Dutch Supreme Court.
UDAPT submitted a letter to the prosecutor general to this effect.
However, the government of Ecuador has not yet shown any
intention of appealing.
If the government of Ecuador submits to the orders of the
arbitration court and the Dutch justice, its decision would have
serious and dire consequences. In the first place, it would legally
annihilate the struggle of more than 30,000 Amazonian inhabitants
to obtain justice. The much-discussed tribunal is asking that future
claims against the oil company be presented «on an individual
basis» which presents insurmountable obstacles for individual
affected people. We can be sure that this decision would mean
those affected by Chevron will never obtain justice. In the second
place, failing to appeal the Dutch ruling implies that the
government of Ecuador is ceding its sovereignty as a state, in
favour of a private international justice system, which would
flagrantly violate the Constitution of Ecuador.
If the Dutch court’s sentence is not appealed before December 16,
the Ecuadorian government will be serving to protect Texaco’s
interests, reinforcing the impunity of corporations, and facilitating
increased pressure and threats on the plaintiffs, which has already
been a problem for years. As for the Dutch Court, it must be
stressed that if it does not change its attitude, it will become
complicit in the violation of the human rights of indigenous
peoples, and in the strengthening of corporate impunity through an
arbitration award implying that another state should violate its
own constitution. This decision is unenforcable in Ecuador.
President Lenin Moreno, there is still time for your government to
reject the Dutch court’s ruling and file an appeal. At the end of this
year, you and your government have in your hands the possibility
to bring justice to the affected indigenous and peasant
communities of Texaco, and to protect the sovereignty of Ecuador.
We urge you to appeal the Dutch ruling which would set a
dangerous precedent for corporate impunity worldwide, and not to
close the door to the hope of Ecuadorian communities in their long
battle for justice and reparation.
