A recent ruling by U.S. courts brings the indigenous groups of the Ecuadorian Amazon one step closer to receiving reparations for the massive pollution of the Amazon rain forest.
In February, an Ecuadorian court ruled against the oil giant Chevron, and awarded damages of up to $18 billion to various indigenous groups and residents of the Amazon.
However, this was halted when New York judge Lewis Kaplan issued a temporary freeze in March, barring the plaintiffs from receiving the award.
On Monday Sept. 19, the U.S. federal court of appeals overturned the block set forth by Kaplan. This most recent ruling, while not providing a final verdict, puts the decision back into the hands of the Ecuadorian courts, rather than U.S. courts.
Atossa Soltani, executive director of Amazon Watch, commented on Democracy Now that this recent ruling “affirms what we’ve been saying and what the plaintiffs have been saying for a decade: That Chevron is guilty of massive environmental contamination in the Ecuadorian Amazon.”
Chevron is currently appealing the decision in Ecuador, and the final award will depend on the verdict of the court.