The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie, in Spnaihs) celebrated a ruling by the Constitutional Court that declared unconstitutional a decree issued during former President Guillermo Lasso’s right-wing administration (2021‑2023) which regulated pre‑legislative consultation for Indigenous, Afro‑Ecuadorian, and Montubio peoples, according to a Conaie statement released Monday.

However, the organization warned that the decree will remain in force until the National Assembly passes an organic law, creating a transition period during which it fears consultations could be “controlled by the government.”

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Conaie expressed that no state institution should use this transitional period to conduct “government‑controlled” consultations, and demanded that any process respect the authorities and procedures of each people and nationality. Therefore, Conaie called on Parliament to approve an organic law on pre‑legislative consultation built with direct participation from the peoples and nationalities themselves.

The court’s ruling confirms that the collective rights of peoples and nationalities cannot be regulated by presidential decrees approved by the Executive Branch, but only through an organic law approved by Parliament.

Pre‑legislative consultation is a constitutional right that guarantees Indigenous peoples and nationalities are heard before any norm that could affect their rights is adopted.

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