SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica On Thursday, March 13, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued an extraordinary ruling that the government of Ecuador had violated the rights of uncontacted Indigenous peoples living within the Amazon rainforest.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is a regional judicial body responsible for interpreting and enforcing the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Established in 1979 and headquartered in San José, Costa Rica, the Court operates within the Organization of American States (OAS) and serves OAS member states that have ratified the ACHR and accepted its jurisdiction. Its primary functions include adjudicating cases of human rights violations under its contentious jurisdiction, issuing advisory opinions on the interpretation of the ACHR and other relevant treaties, and supervising the implementation of its rulings and reparations.
Cases typically reach the Court through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) or, in limited instances, through direct petitions. Over the years, the Court has played a crucial role in strengthening human rights protections in Latin America and the Caribbean, issuing landmark rulings on issues such as forced disappearances, Indigenous rights, gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ rights, and due process. Its decisions have significantly contributed to the development of international human rights law and the enforcement of state accountability in the region.
Amazon rainforest – The yellow line encloses Amazon Basin as delineated by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Image credit: NASA,, Public Domain, Modified by Pfly – https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1598015
The Historic Ruling
The ruling in “Caso Pueblos Indígenas Tagaeri y Taromenane vs. Ecuador” (Tagaeri and Taromenane Indigenous Peoples v. Ecuador) mandates that the Ecuadorian government ensure that any future expansion or renewal of oil operations does not impact Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation.
The case before the Court focused on at least three groups of Indigenous peoples who live in voluntary isolation in the Ecuadorian Amazon: the Tagaeri, Taromenane, and Dugakaeri. The Court defined uncontacted Indigenous peoples as:
“Peoples or segments of peoples who do not maintain regular contact with the majority population and who, in addition, tend to avoid any type of contact with persons outside their group. They may also include peoples or segments of peoples who were previously contacted but who decide to return to a situation of isolation, breaking off contact relations.”
In other words, these are Indigenous communities that have chosen to avoid or have never had contact with the outside world.
The judges highlighted the extreme vulnerability of Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation to environmental disturbances. As a result, any activities that could impact their territories, such as oil drilling, must undergo thorough evaluation. The Court instructed the Ecuadorian government to apply the “precautionary principle” when making decisions about future oil operations.
The Court wrote in its decision:
“It is considered that the precautionary principle should be applied in determining their territory and in the measures for their protection, in the sense that, even in the absence of scientific certainty regarding the impact on their territory due to oil exploration and exploitation projects, effective measures should be adopted to prevent serious or irreversible damage, which in this case would be the contact of these isolated populations. This also responds to the United Nations Guidelines, which recommend incorporating the precautionary principle to guarantee the physical and cultural survival of the PIAVs.”
PIAVs refers to Pueblos Indígenas en Aislamiento Voluntario (Indigenous Communities in Voluntary Isolation).
Orinoco River, Amazonas State. Venezuela [Pedro Gutiérrez, Wikimedia Commons, CC 2.0
The Ecuadorian Government’s Role in Violations
In 2013, the Ecuadorian government quietly altered official maps that designated areas where uncontacted groups were known to travel. The new maps, without justification, excluded an oil-rich region known as the Ishpingo, Tambococha, and Tiputini (ITT) oil fields, falsely indicating that uncontacted groups no longer moved through the area.
Soon after, two violent encounters involving uncontacted groups occurred, including a massacre that claimed the lives of approximately 30 uncontacted individuals. Two young survivors, referenced in Thursday’s ruling, were around 2 and 6 years old at the time. They now live in different parts of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Court concluded that “the State was responsible for failing to prevent these events, thus violating the right to life of the PIAV members who died in those attacks.”
The United Nations estimates that approximately 200 Indigenous communities live in voluntary isolation across at least nine countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Court’s ruling also impacts other Indigenous groups who share territories with the Tagaeri, Taromenane, and Dugakaeri or live nearby. This includes recently contacted Waorani people, as the Tagaeri, Taromenane, and Dugakaeri are a subset of the Waorani and share the same language and cultural heritage.
A Landmark Precedent in International Human Rights Law
The IACtHR ruling marks the first time an international court has determined whether a government has taken sufficient action to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation. The Court emphasized that these rights extend beyond physical territory to include cultural identity, health, food security, housing, and the overall environment necessary for a dignified life.
Additionally, the Court ordered the Ecuadorian government to implement measures preventing third parties, such as illegal loggers, from encroaching on uncontacted peoples’ lands and threatening their right to remain uncontacted. The ruling aligns with multiple international treaties that recognize and uphold this fundamental right.
The Waorani People and the History of Encroachment
The Waorani people are an Indigenous community native to the Ecuadorian Amazon, known for their deep connection to the rainforest and history of resistance against outside encroachment. Traditionally, they have lived as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers, relying on the forest for food, medicine, and shelter.
Until the late 1950s, the Waorani lived uncontacted in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Their first sustained contact with outsiders came when American Christian missionaries forcibly contacted Waorani groups to evangelize them. A few years later, the U.S. oil company Texaco collaborated with the missionaries to accelerate forced contact efforts, aiming to remove Waorani people from their oil-rich lands.
Since then, oil industry operations have expanded further into Waorani territories, displacing some communities and forcing uncontacted and recently contacted groups into an increasingly smaller portion of the rainforest. This has placed immense pressure on Waorani communities, which depend on vast territories for survival. Their cultural identity, way of life, and well-being are deeply connected to the health of the rainforest and its waterways, making continued encroachment by the oil industry a direct threat to their existence.
The Ruling’s Impact on Indigenous Sovereignty
For decades, oil extraction has steadily encroached on Indigenous lands, particularly in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park, a region home to uncontacted tribes and thousands of unique species. Pollution from drilling operations has contaminated waterways, accelerated deforestation, and displaced entire communities. Meanwhile, numerous Indigenous communities in the Amazon continue to face violence as they defend their land against illegal loggers and other intruders.
The IACtHR ruling reinforces Indigenous sovereignty and marks a significant shift in the legal recognition of these threats. It sets a precedent that could influence similar legal battles across Latin America and beyond.
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