A/HRC/4/32/Add.2 page 10 23. Although the State company, PetroEcuador, offers open participation to the indigenous population in oil exploration projects, indigenous organizations complain that this has not always occurred in practice. The Government also states that it played an important role in establishing tripartite dialogue between the companies, the State and the indigenous communities. In 2002, after almost 15 months of negotiations, a consensus was achieved by which the oil companies would carry out environmental impact studies before each contract. According to the Government, this has worked well. For the last seven years, oil companies have contributed to a fund for indigenous development; however, indigenous organizations complain of cronyism and paternalistic practices. 24. The Special Rapporteur received statements from many indigenous communities stressing the negative effects on them of failure by such oil companies as Texaco, Occidental, Chevron, Repsol, Shell and Perenco to comply with human rights and environmental protection rules. The Cofán complained about the degradation and pollution of their territories, the child health and nutrition problems caused by oil operations and the fact that the company is putting the communities affected under pressure. In Orellana, 12 Quechua communities pointed to pressure and violations of their collective human rights by an oil company in block 7. This is one of many cases demonstrating the incompatibility of the constitutional human rights of indigenous peoples and the oil concessions awarded by the State with the consent of some communities. With no State social policy, the local indigenous population must make do with the minimal social services provided by the oil companies, and they complain that their collective right to prior, free and informed consultation, as guaranteed in the Constitution, is not respected. In order to comply with the constitutional principle of consultation, the Consultation and Participation Act was adopted in 2002. Indigenous organizations have requested that it be repealed, owing to its limitations and problems, in addition to the numerous conflicts provoked by its application in various regions. 25. Among the complaints made to the Special Rapporteur, contracts between oil companies and the armed forces for the provision of security services are particularly significant, as members of the security services have been accused of committing abuse and acts of violence against local indigenous populations. The Minister of Defence assured the Special Rapporteur that these contracts had been suspended during his term in office. Complaints continue, however, of violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples, including acts of persecution, torture, degrading treatment and the illegal detention of opposition organization leaders. It is claimed that those responsible for these violations have gone unpunished. B. Situation of indigenous peoples on the northern border 26. The border between Ecuador and Colombia includes a number of provinces on the coast, in the highlands and in Amazonia, inhabited by six indigenous peoples. The Awá and Quechua live in the highlands, while the Cofán, Siona, Secoya and Quechua live in Amazonia. The main problems for these communities arise from the implementation of Plan Colombia, drug trafficking, the expansion of palm and oil companies and the almost total lack of State institutions to protect and guarantee the rights of these indigenous peoples. 27. The Awá have been particularly affected. In all, 3,500 Awás live in Ecuador and 36,000 hectares of the approximately 120,000 hectares of their ancestral territories have been recognized. They live in extreme poverty in the border provinces of Carchi, Esmeraldas and