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"The continuing violation of thousands of Ecuadorian citizens’ human rights in the banana plantations in at least six provinces in Ecuador is not news," stated an objection to the Defensoría del Pueblo (Ecuador’s Ombudsman) in 2010. It added that the violation of human and constitutional rights is twofold. On the one hand, it is due to the employers and the banana companies’ abuse of power. On the other hand, there is a lack of control by the Ecuadorian State. A thorough investigation of the allegations was requested.
It took the Ombudsman two years to come up with a resolution accepting the demand. It listed the human rights infringed by some banana companies: the right to live in a safe environment, the right to health, the right to work and the right to social security. And it declared, besides, that the aerial spraying of plantations jeopardized the Rights of Nature.
