Amnesty International joins the call from the Guerreras por la Amazonía (GxA, Women Warriors for the Amazon), who, five years after securing a landmark ruling requiring Ecuador to eliminate oil industry gas flares located near populated areas and provide reparations to affected communities, continue to demand its full implementation.
“Over the past five years, the Guerreras por la Amazonía, the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Operations (UDAPT), the Eliminen los Mecheros collective and affected communities have led a tireless struggle for their rights and for climate justice. However, they continue to face the authorities’ indifference, actions that merely create the appearance of compliance with the ruling, as well as stigmatization and even attacks against them,” said Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Over the past five years, the Guerreras por la Amazonía, the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Operations (UDAPT), the Eliminen los Mecheros collective and affected communities have led a tireless struggle for their rights and for climate justice.”
Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Eliminating gas flares: partial progress and simulated compliance
According to figures from Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAE), there were 486 gas flares in the Ecuadorian Amazon in 2023. Of these, 424 were operated by the state-owned company Petroecuador and 62 by private companies.
The ruling ordered their progressive elimination by 2030, beginning with those located near populated areas. These flares were supposed to be eliminated within 18 months, a deadline that expired on 29 March 2023.
To comply with this obligation, the MAE issued regulations in 2022 defining as “near populated areas” only those flares located within 100 metres of a cluster of at least 20 adjacent homes.
In its report
The Amazon Is Burning, the Future Is Burning,
Amnesty International documented in August 2024 at least 52 gas fl
