Texaco's two decades-long operations in Ecuador's Amazon region appear to be stained with oil spillages and intentional toxic waste dumping. This negligence has polluted both the land and groundwater supply of the communities living in the area while continually posing a threat to their health, economic and cultural survival.
For over four decades, Indigenous communities have witnessed multinational oil companies cut through their ancestral lands in search of the country's vast petroleum resources. According to the report "Amazon Crude", Texaco alone was responsible for dumping 19 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the region contaminating the drinking water of Ecuador's Amazon communities.
Scores of demonstrators were arbitrarily detained and ill-treated during mass protests against new legislation on the use of natural resources. Intimidation and threats against human rights defenders, including Indigenous and community leaders, were reported.
Human rights defenders, particularly Indigenous and community leaders, were intimidated and harassed. Community leaders and human rights defenders were among the scores of protesters arbitrarily detained and ill-treated in the context of mass demonstrations against the new mining law.
In April, a Canadian law firm filed a claim against a Canadian mining company and the Toronto Stock Exchange on behalf of three people from the Intag area in Canton Cotacachi, Imbabura province. The woman and two men alleged that they had been assaulted in 2006 by private security guards acting for the company. One of the men also said that he had been subjected to threats and intimidation in several incidents in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by people allegedly linked to the company. They alleged that they were targeted because of their campaign against the opening of a copper mine in the area. The Toronto Stock Exchange was alleged to have facilitated the funding of the company despite being made aware of the potential harm to individuals. The case was pending before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at the end of the year.
The ruling by the Provincial Court of Lago Agrio in a case brought by local communities in 1993 was deferred until 2010. The communities alleged that the oil company Chevron (formerly Texaco) was responsible for environmental damage during more than two decades of oil extraction.
As millions took to the streets to protest rampant violence, inequality, corruption and impunity, or were forced to flee their countries in search of safety, states across the Americas clamped …
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones. Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians. And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need. Amnesty International believes that this can and must finally change.
Republic of Ecuador Head of state and government Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado Indigenous and community leaders faced spurious criminal charges aimed at restricting their freedom of assembly. The rights of …
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has come down in favor of the Sarayaku indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon in a key victory for Indigenous Peoples.
Ecuador’s authorities are misuing the judicial system to clamp down on indigenous and campesino leaders involved in social conflicts over development projects.
Head of state and government: Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes Population: 13.8 million Life expectancy: 75.4 years Under-5 mortality (m/f): 29/22 per 1,000 Adult literacy: …
Head of state and government Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado Death penalty abolitionist for all crimes Population 13.6 million Life expectancy 75 years Under-5 mortality (m/f) 29/22 per 1,000 Adult literacy …