167. Given that the State must guarantee these rights to consultation and participation at all stages of the planning and implementation of a project that may affect the territory on which an indigenous or tribal community is settled, or other rights essential to their survival as a people, these dialogue and consensus-building processes must be conducted from the first stages of the planning or preparation of the proposed measure, so that the indigenous peoples can truly participate in and influence the decision-making process, in accordance with the relevant international standards. In this regard, the State must ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples are not ignored in any other activity or agreement reached with private individuals, or in the context of decisions of the public authorities that would affect their rights and interests. Therefore, as applicable, the State must also carry out the tasks of inspection and supervision of their application and, when pertinent, deploy effective means to safeguard those rights through the corresponding judicial organs.218 168. In the case of Ecuador, the current Constitution (2008) provides comprehensively protection for the rights of indigenous communities.219 Indeed, expert witness Anaya indicated during the public hearing held at the Court’s headquarters that this Constitution is “one of the most advanced” and one of the most “exemplary in the world.”220 Furthermore, several provisions of Ecuador’s laws, issued between 2000 and 2010, reaffirm the recognition of the right to property, among other rights, of the indigenous Peoples who define themselves as nationalities with ancestral roots, as well as black or Afro-Ecuadorian Peoples, and establish requirements for consultation by public institutions in a number of scenarios.221 Thus, today, the right to consultation is fully recognized in Ecuador. 218 Cf. Articles 6, 15, 17.2, 22.3, 27.3, and 28 of ILO Convention No. 169, and articles 15.2, 17.2, 19, 30.2, 32.2, 36.2 and 38 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 219 The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador came into force on October 20, 2008. Its Article 57 establishes that “[i]ndigenous communities, peoples and nationalities are recognized and guaranteed, in conformity with the Constitution and international human rights conventions, agreements, declarations and other instruments, the following collective rights: (1) To freely maintain, develop and strengthen their identity, feeling of belonging, ancestral traditions and forms of social organization. […] (6) To participate in the use, enjoyment, administration and conservation of the renewable natural resources located on their lands; (7) To free, prior and informed consultation, within a reasonable time, on the plans and programs for exploring for, exploiting and marketing non-renewable resources located on their lands that could have an environmental or cultural impact on them; to share in the profits of these projects and to receive compensation for any social, cultural or environmental damage caused to them. The consultation to be conducted by competent authorities shall be mandatory and timely. If the consent of the community consulted is not obtained, the provisions of the Constitution and the law shall be followed. (8) To preserve and promote their practices for managing biodiversity and their natural environment. The State must establish and implement programs with the participation of the community to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. (9) To conserve and develop their own forms of social organization and coexistence and for the establishment and exercise of authority, in their legally recognized territories and ancestral communal lands; […] (16) To participate, through their representatives, in the official organizations established by law in formulating public policies that concern them, and in defining and deciding on their priorities in the State’s plans and projects; (17) To be consulted before the adoption of a legislative measure that could affect any of their collective rights, [and …] (20) The limitation of military activities on their territories, according to the law. […].” 220 Expert opinion of James Anaya during the public hearing held at the seat of the Court on July 7, 2011. 221 The Agrarian Development Act of April 16, 2004, Articles 3 and 49, provides, inter alia, that “This law seeks to guarantee the security of individual and collective ownership of land and seeks to strengthen community ownership for traditional production and enterprise. […]The State must protect the lands of the National Agricultural Development Institute (INDA) allocated for the development of the Montubio, indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian Peoples and shall legalize them by granting them, without cost, to communities or ethnic groups that have owned them ancestrally, on the condition that they respect their own traditions, cultural life and social organization.” Cf. Agrarian Development Law, No. 2004-02, published in the supplement to Official Gazette No 315 of April 16, 2004 (evidence file, tome 8, folios 4082 and ff.) The same month, the Commune Organization and Management Law (No. 2004-04, published in the supplement to Official Gazette No. 315 of April 2004, evidence file, tome 8, folio 4098)) was adopted, establishing that “the exercise of collective rights is guaranteed for indigenous peoples who define themselves as nationalities with ancestral roots and black or Afro Peoples, as well as the communities that form part of these collectivities in accordance with the provisions of […] the Constitution.” On April 16, 2004, the Vacant Lands and Settlement Act (No. 2004-03, published in the supplement to Official Gazette 315 of April 16, 2004, evidence file, tome 8, folio 4119) was adopted; it states that “communal lands in the ancestral possession of the indigenous communities who define themselves as nationalities with ancestral roots and of the black or Afro-Ecuadorian peoples, as well as of the communities that form part of these collectivities, shall not be considered vacant lands, in accordance with the provisions of article 84 of the Constitution of the Republic.” On September 10, 2004, the Environmental Management Act (supplement to the Official Record of 10 September 2004, evidence file, tome 8, folio 4103 and ff.), was 46