Ecuador: Report states mining concessions granted to Canadian, Chinese companies illegal

Mining concessions granted to Canadian and Chinese-owned companies in Ecuador are illegal and should be cancelled in compliance with the Mining Mandate, argues a legal brief submitted yesterday to the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court by the the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) and MiningWatch Canada.

The Mining Mandate is a constitutional-level norm that has been in effect since April 2008. Ecuador’s National Constituent Assembly issued the Mining Mandate ordering the termination of mining concessions that were granted without prior consultation with affected communities and if they were overlapping with water sources or protected areas, among other criteria. Even though constitutional-level norms of this type are mandatory and not subject to review or challenge, Ecuadorian authorities have failed to enforce the Mandate in certain cases, including conflict-ridden mining projects that the state now deems “strategic”.

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“Failure to fully implement the Mining Mandate violates the rule of law and establishes a dangerous precedent by which the law is applied to some, but not to all. Additionally, the current situation illegally consolidates violations of the rights of mining-affected communities in Ecuador, including to the right to due process, to live in a healthy environment, to prior consultation, and to water, among others,” states lawyer and report author Lewis Gordon, Director of EDLC. Read Article