Ecuador Public Defender’s Office Case: rights of nature violations by banana companies

Summary

In 2012, the Defensoría del Pueblo (Public Defender’s Office) of Ecuador granted the request of the citizen Acosta Orellana Jorge Washington regarding the violations of human rights and the rights of nature carried out by banana companies in Ecuador through the use of aerial spraying that endanger the health of the people living around those areas, as well as the rights of nature itself. The Defensoría del Pueblo’s established that “aerial spraying endangers local ecosystems and water sources that constitute the essential component of nature in these localities, to which the State must respond” and resolved that “aerial spraying endangers the rights of nature recognized in our Fundamental Charter”.

The Defensoría del Pueblo (Public Defender’s Office) Ecuador is an autonomous body of the Judicial Branch that guarantees access to justice for people who, due to their defenselessness or economic, social or cultural condition, cannot hire legal defense services for the protection of their rights. The institution “promotes, disseminates and protects the rights of people, communities, peoples, nationalities and collectives that live in the country, of Ecuadorians abroad, and the Rights of Nature, as well as promoting the construction of a culture that recognizes and promotes them in all areas of national life to foster a dignified life and Good Living.”

Involved Organizations