A/HRC/42/37/Add.1
health and childbirth with indigenous midwives. However, the participation of indigenous
peoples is inadequate, so that traditional indigenous systems of medicine are not
sufficiently recognized. There is a lack of coordination and integration between those
systems and the national health system. The indigenous institutional structure in this sector
has not been rebuilt.
K.
Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation or initial contact
65.
The Constitution refers to peoples in voluntary isolation, stating that their territories
are ancestral possessions and prohibiting extraction activities on these lands. It stipulates
that the State must take measures to ensure respect for their lives, self-determination and
wish to live in isolation. Violation of these rights is considered an offence of ethnocide. The
Tagaeri Taromenane Protected Zone was created in 1999 within the Yasuní Biosphere
Reserve for the protection of these peoples, although it does not include all of their
traditional territory. Decree No. 2187/2007 set the boundaries of the inviolable area
covering 758,051 ha and established an additional buffer zone of 10 km, where it is
prohibited to build new infrastructure and other works that technical and environmental
impact studies have determined to be incompatible with the purpose of the protected zone.
66.
The Special Rapporteur met with representatives of the Huaorani Baihuaeri
community of Bameno. The ancestral territory of the Baihuaeri, a people in recent contact,
is now included in the Yasuní and the Tagaeri Taromenane Protected Zone. One of the
problems facing the Baihuaeri and other Huaorani groups in the area is the increasing
conflict caused by the incursion of Tagaeri Taromenane groups, who are displaced by
extraction and logging activities. According to the Baihuaeri, the entire territory of the
isolated peoples must be adequately protected, and oil drilling must be suspended in blocks
16, 14–17, 31, 43, 55 and 56. In 2007, the Government issued a plan for implementation of
the interim measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (MC
91/06) and, in 2015, it established a Directorate for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in
Voluntary Isolation. It is alleged, however, that the unilateral manner in which the
Government has implemented the plan has not helped resolve the complex problems in the
area. A peace plan aimed at resolving the underlying causes of the conflicts is still pending.
67.
Information was also provided on the status of the Huaorani who were prosecuted
for the 2013 massacre of Taromenane. Contrary to the recommendation of the Special
Rapporteur, 16 the underlying causes of the conflict have not been considered in the
investigation of the facts, nor has account been taken of the authority and traditional justice
systems of the Huaorani. Five years later, the trial is still ongoing, without regard for due
process or the principles of interculturality and celerity.
68.
In this context, the information received on re-delimitation of the Tagaeri
Taromenane Protected Zone raises concerns. The area of the intangible zone would be
increased, while at the same time, extraction and infrastructure activities would be allowed
in the buffer zone, which fulfils an essential role in providing protection while allowing for
the expansion and operation of the Ishpingo oil-drilling block. It should be noted that a ring
of oil activities is being created around the territory that is recognized as belonging to the
indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, hindering their freedom of movement and
pushing them towards areas that belong to other Huaorani groups, which will aggravate the
conflicts. In addition, information was received regarding the tendering of block 87, where,
according to the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Religious Affairs, the Curaray
Nashiña live in isolation.
69.
The Ministry of Justice informed the Special Rapporteur about the steps that have
been taken to implement the interim measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights. In August 2018, an agreement on public policy implementation was
signed by the Ministry and the Huaorani nation of Ecuador, with advice being provided by
the Equality Council. These measures will only work if they are aimed at resolving
16
14
A/HRC/15/37/Add.7, press release of 16 May 2013; ECU 7/2016.
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