A/HRC/4/32/Add.2 page 12 32. The Ecuadorian Government is concerned by the effects of these practices on the indigenous border population and has begun bilateral negotiations with the Colombian Government. As a result, Colombia announced that it would suspend spraying, but this has not definitively ended the controversy. Ecuador has requested a complete halt to spraying in a 10-kilometre strip along the border. Although technical studies on the environmental impact of spraying glysophate have provided various results, the Special Rapporteur has received testimony from members of affected communities which clearly indicates that, in the long term, the effects of such practices are considerable. 33. An international study undertaken in March 2006 concludes: “a thoroughgoing investigation must urgently be launched into the situation affecting the Awá indigenous people, which is linked to the consequences of spraying, and to their abandonment by the State”. The Awá request “a study to ascertain the effects of these spraying exercises, sufficient support for indigenous health, the creation of a health department for the Awá people, the denunciation of the land invasion, eviction and paramilitary threats made under the auspices of Plan Colombia and which affect Colombian and now Ecuadorian indigenous Awás, and the conduct of continuous immunization campaigns”. 34. In 2004, a United Nations inter-agency mission was sent to study the problems affecting indigenous and non-indigenous populations on both sides of the border, leading to the preparation of a report for the Government of Ecuador. In 2005, on the basis of this report, the United Nations established an inter-agency programme for peace and development on the northern border, in order to provide a coordinated framework for action in both countries. In 2006, at the request of the Ecuadorian Government, a United Nations technical mission examined the issue of glysophate spraying. This report was sent to the Government of Colombia. According to the latest information, Colombia has ceased spraying within a 10-kilometre strip along the Ecuadorian border. 35. Drug trafficking has eroded the growing of environmentally friendly crops by introducing coca farming as an illicit survival strategy, i.e., traditional crops are giving way to the small-scale cultivation of coca. The number of refugees from conflict zones in Colombia has increased. According to testimony received, the presence of soldiers, guerrillas and drug traffickers in the area bordering Colombia has had a negative impact on the living conditions of indigenous border peoples. Acts of violence and harassment, particularly against women, are reported. The sexual exploitation of women, young girls and teenagers, and trafficking in persons has increased alarmingly. The number of indigenous Ecuadorian farmers, including minors, carrying out illicit planting on the Colombian side of the border has risen. 36. According to reports, the expansion of oil palm companies has progressively dispossessed communities of their ancestral territories. One study shows that these companies currently own 60,000 hectares, of which 30,000 are under crops, and there are plans to acquire in total 150,000 hectares, using loans from Brazil. The conflict in the zone specifically affects women and girls from communities living in areas directly and indirectly influenced by the northern border conflict.