Quito, Ecuador, August 13, 2025. Three Indigenous nations, along with human rights organizations and communities, filed a lawsuit to challenge Ecuador’s “Organic Law for the Strengthening of Protected Areas” (LOFAP). The plaintiffs are denouncing the LOFAP primarily because of its impact on Indigenous Peoples and nations. It was voted on by Ecuador’s National Assembly and enacted in mid-July without any prior legislative consultation with Indigenous communities, peoples, and nations.
The plaintiffs include the A’i Cofán Community of Sinangoe, the Siekopai Nation (NASIEPAI), the Siona Nation (ONISE), the Waorani Organization of Pastaza (OWAP), the Kichwa Nation of Pastaza (PAKKIRU), and the Ceibo Alliance Foundation, along with human rights defenders and members of the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations of Ecuador.
The LOFAP is part of a package of urgent economic laws recently presented by the Ecuadorian government, which claims to combat delinquency and organized crime and to revive the country’s economy. However, as currently written, this law limits the exercise of human rights and collective rights by Indigenous Peoples, and it violates the rights of nature as recognized in the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador.
The lawsuit was filed on August 5, 2025, after multiple legal analyses concluded that the LOFAP is unconstitutional for several reasons:
Lack of prior legislative consultation: This law violates the right to consultation of at least 10 Indigenous nations, whose ancestral territories of nearly 5 million acres, overlap with so-called protected areas. This law, in addition to rendering Indigenous people invisible, treats their territories as unowned lands or lands that are under the exclusive administration and ownership of the State. Furthermore, the law grants private benefits in violation of the State’s international obligations and its responsibility to respect collective rights.
The imposition of administration by both the State and private companies for the management of ancestral territories creates the risk that these areas will be used for various projects that are incompatible with processes of self-determination and governance. It reduces Indigenous Peoples to mere service providers, limiting their right to participation and decision-making.
Risk of militarization of Indigenous territories, discrimination, and criminalization: Article 6 of the LOFAP establishes that public forces may unilaterally and arbitrarily enter Indigenous territories. This may lead to an increase in situations of criminalization, discrimination, and human rights violations, including restrictions on mobility and a lack of respect for the forms and structures of territorial governance. The Constitutional Court has recognized that when it comes to military interventions in ancestral territories, the consent of Indigenous Peoples and communities is mandatory under the provisions of Article 30.1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Violation of the right to ownership and possession of ancestral lands and the principle of non-regression: Articles 4 and 7 of the LOFAP fail to comply with the right of Indigenous Peoples and nations to maintain ancestral ownership of their territories. The LOFAP also violates Article 57.4 of the Constitution, which establishes that Indigenous territories cannot be sold, seized, or divided.
This provision of the LOFAP violates the collective right of Indigenous Peoples to maintain possession of their ancestral lands and territories. It also contravenes the principle of non-regression, established in the Ecuadorian Constitution and international instruments such as the ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Violation of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination: Article 7 of the LOFAP establishes that the State and its private managers may make decisions regarding Indigenous territories and may impose development with regard to at least six types of activities. The LOFAP does this without protecting Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, that is, the right to decide their priorities in processes of development and the right to control their own economic, social, and cultural development.
The plaintiffs assert that with this legislation, the Ecuadorian government is violating the human rights and collective rights of Indigenous Peoples and nations, and they therefore demand that the Constitutional Court:
- Take up this lawsuit for unconstitutionality, giving it the same priority treatment that it has used to review other laws put forth by President Daniel Noboa.
- Temporarily suspend the application of this Law for the Strengthening of Protected Areas until the Constitutional Court issues a ruling.
- Urgently convene a hearing to analyze the case.
Likewise, the plaintiffs issue this warning to the international community, international organizations defending human, collective, and environmental rights, and to bodies that protect regional and universal rights: The rule of law in Ecuador is being dismantled. Moreover, there are looming threats to the Constitutional Court stemming from a popular referendum and the actions and accusations of the Executive Branch, which seek to undermine the Court’s independence and impartiality.
Contact information: Raul Estrada – Campaigns Manager for Amazon Frontlines (+52-5580196422), email: raul.estrada@amazonfrontlines.org
