The grassroots collective Yasunidos on November 12 asked Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to enforce the 2023 referendum to halt oil extraction in the Ishpingo, Tambococha, and Tiputini (ITT) block of Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Two years later, extraction continues, and only a small number of the roughly 240 wells have been closed.
The lawsuit urges the court to order the government to suspend oil extraction, cancel related contracts and licenses, and develop a credible plan to close the oil wells. The plaintiffs are also asking the court to order the dismissal of government ministers and officials who have ignored the referendum, including the environment and energy minister and the general manager of the state energy company, Petroecuador.
In May 2023, the court held that, if voters approved the referendum, the government had to immediately halt oil extraction and shut down all wells by August 31, 2024, a ruling that remains under compliance monitoring.
Yasuni National Park is home to Indigenous peoples, including the Waorani, Kichwa, Tagaeri, and Taromenane peoples, who live in voluntary isolation. Juan Bay, president of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador, told leaders at this year’s global climate talks that “the Ecuadorian people made a democratic decision to keep oil in Block 43 underground. Yet two years have passed, and the government still has not shown the will to comply.”
The petition comes amid political and social upheaval in Ecuador. Between September and October, the country’s largest Indigenous organization led protests after President Daniel Noboa scrapped diesel fuel subsidies. Human Rights Watch verified governmental repression during the protests, which left 2 people dead, 473 injured, and 206 detained. The Noboa administration has also challenged the Constitutional Court, calling it “the enemy of the people.”
Amid this context, the government has called a nationwide referendum on November 16 to draft a new constitution.
If the court allows the case to proceed, its ruling may test whether Noboa’s government will uphold the rule of law. The government should immediately suspend oil extraction in the ITT block and ensure Indigenous participation in designing and implementing a credible, time-bound plan to close the wells.