Ecuador
Herrera Carrion et al. v. Ministry of the Environment et al. (Caso Mecheros)
Jurisdiction: Multicompetent Chamber of the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos of Ecuador; Family, Women, and Children Judicial Unit of Lago Agrio in the Sucumbios Province of Ecuador
Principle law(s): Organic Code on the Environment
Side A: Herrera Carrion et al. (Individual)
Side B: Ministry of the Environment et al. (Caso Mecheros) (Government)
Core objectives: Whether gas flaring resulting from State’s authorization produces the violation of human rights violations of a group of nine children.
Summary
On February 18, 2020, a group of nine girls from the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana filed a constitutional injunction (acción de protección) against the government of Ecuador. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs claimed that gas flaring is unlawful, although it can be authorised by exception, and that despite this, the State has made it a common practice, which constitutes a violation of the rights to health, water and food sovereignty, the right to a healthy environment and, the rights of Nature. They furthermore argued that pollution of gas flaring causes serious impacts on the environment and on people's health, damage to biodiversity and the cycles of nature, and contributes to climate change. Plaintiffs requested, inter alia, the annulment of all gas flaring authorizations, the immediate elimination of all flaring towers located in various areas of the Amazon where there is oil activity, and the prohibition of new oil-related flares in the region.Case documents
Related laws and policies
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Organic Code on the Environment
The Organic Code on the Environment was published in the Official Register on 12 April 2017, and will enter into full force in one year. It aims to guarantee the right of people to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, as well as to protect the "rights of nature" recognized in ...