A/HRC/4/32/Add.2 page 9 19. A case in point is the indigenous Quechua community of the Sarayaku, in the Amazonian province of Pastaza. In 1992, the ancestral lands of the Sarayaku in Pastaza were legally recognized by Ecuador. Four years later, the State signed a participation contract with the Argentine oil company Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC) for oil exploration and development of over 200,000 hectares in block 23, 65 per cent of which comprises the ancestral land of the Sarayaku and other indigenous communities. The Sarayaku community complain that the contract was signed without consultation or their prior informed consent and allege non-compliance with ILO Convention No. 169, ratified by Ecuador after the oil concession. The Sarayaku also complain of non-compliance with an agreement between CGC, Pastaza police and indigenous organizations to respect Sarayaku ancestral territories. They have protested and demanded that the company withdraw, although some members of other indigenous communities in Sarayaku territory wish to maintain a working relationship with the company that provides them with income and certain services. This has further divided the community. 20. Sarayaku members complain that oil activities have polluted their rivers and affected the health of the region’s indigenous peoples. In 2003, community leaders complained of threats, the militarization of the area and the permanent harassment of their members by the CGC private security services. The case was brought to the attention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which asked the Government to take protective measures in favour of the community. As no satisfactory response was received from the State and the threats continued, the Commission then referred the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which ordered provisional measures to protect the community. These measures were upheld by the Court in its decision of June 2005, triggering a limited response from the Ecuadorian authorities. 21. Further complaints have been lodged concerning the placing of explosive charges in Sarayaku territory for seismic exploration by CGC and the destruction of holy places and plant life. The Government informed the Special Rapporteur that some of these complaints had been upheld, but that removing the explosive charges would be too expensive. In March 2006, in a new hearing before the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, government representatives proposed an amicable settlement with the Sarayaku, consisting of the voluntary withdrawal of CGC from block 23, recognition of and public apologies for human rights violations committed against the Sarayaku, the establishment of an economic fund for the central-south Amazon region, and reforms to the prior consent rules relating to oil operations. The proposal has been rejected pending a ruling by the Commission or Court. The Ecuadorian Office of the Ombudsman, along with the Sarayaku community, has asked the State to comply with the measures laid down by the Commission and the Court, but the Special Rapporteur has been informed that this compliance is still pending. 22. Relations between the State, the oil companies (both national and transnational) and the indigenous communities are complex, requiring the full attention of the authorities and human rights defenders. A director of the State oil company assured the Special Rapporteur that, in some regions, the companies are careful to comply with the law, adjust their activities to environmental and human rights requirements, and maintain satisfactory relationships with the indigenous communities in which they are based. Nevertheless, he recognized that there are other regions in which this does not occur and where there is, in his own words, “chaotic chaos”.