On Monday, March 13, 2006, in the city of Washington DC, a new hearing was held before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the case of the Kichwa People of Sarayaku. In said hearing, the Ecuadorian state presented four witnesses, indigenous Kichwas from Pastaza, collaborators and supporters of the CGC, who testified against Sarayaku.

Additionally, the State Attorney General made a friendly settlement proposal to Sarayaku, which in short consisted of: Voluntary withdrawal of the CGC company from block 23, recognition and public apologies for human rights violations committed against Sarayaku, an economic fund for the central-southern Amazon and reforms to the regulation of prior consultation in matters of hydrocarbons.

After an arduous analysis, Sarayaku announced to the state and the Inter-American Commission that they considered that this is not the time to discuss the terms of a friendly solution with the State, while reiterating their openness to dialogue once the Inter-American Commission issues its resolution. on the case, establish international responsibilities against the state and make recommendations to the state for the reparation of the violations suffered by Sarayaku and for an effective guarantee of a repetition.

This position responds to the feelings of the bases of the People of Sarayaku manifesting permanently in their assemblies and was based on the following elements:

1. The little credibility of a proposal made by the State that since 2003 has systematically failed to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission in favor of Sarayaku. The non-compliance of the State with these international responsibilities means for Sarayaku the impossibility of transiting the Bobonaza River, the non-removal of tons of high-powered explosives left in its territory by the CGC company and that the attacks and threats have not been satisfactorily investigated. suffered by its leaders and members during these years of struggle.

2. The State Attorney at the Hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held on May 11, 2005 in Asunción, Paraguay, recognized the existence of contractual violations by the CGC company that led him to consider that it had to be nullified. However, so far nothing has been resolved in this regard, which shows an attitude of complacency in the attorney general's office that borders on complicity with the company.

3. The proposal is made within the framework of a hearing in which an aggressive and disrespectful attitude was evidenced by the State Attorney against the People of Sarayaku, their leaders and representatives. The attitude of the representatives of the Ecuadorian State even affected the majesty of the Inter-American Commission, by having made a person testify whose identity did not correspond to that of the witness announced and authorized by the Commission, a fact that was pointed out by the defense of Sarayaku and observed by the Presidency of the commission. In this context, the presentation of a friendly settlement proposal loses seriousness in the eyes of Sarayaku.

4. The seriousness of the human rights violations that the People of Sarayaku must have suffered due to the violent, arbitrary, and unlawful entry into their sacred territory of the CGC company and the Ecuadorian Army to sow destruction along the way. through the placement and explosion of high-power explosives in the forests from which people take their food requires immediate reparations, under the framework of International Law.

In order for a reparation process adhered to international human rights standards to be viable, a clear delimitation of responsibilities is necessary, which can only occur, at the moment, through a resolution on the merits of the case issued by the Inter-American Commission. For all these reasons, Sarayaku announces that it will continue with the legal process initiated before the Inter-American Court until a resolution is obtained.

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