49. On August 20, 2003, the Constitutional Court decided a protection action filed by the Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá (Recycler’s Association of Bogota) in relation to a lack of access to public bidding for the provision of public sanitation services. In said decision, the Court considered that, (…) the Executive Unit of the Public Services of the Capital District of Bogota (Unidad Ejecutiva de Servicios Públicos del Distrito Capital de Bogotá), did not abide by the constitutional mandate that constrains it to adopt measures in favor of marginalized or discriminated groups, such as recyclers, as will be shown below (…) (…) it urges the Council of Bogota, in relation to its jurisdiction, to include affirmative actions in the process of administrative contracting, in favor of those groups that, as a result of 6 marginalization and discrimination, require special protection from the State (…). 50. On July 30, 2010, the Constitutional Court issued Order 268, outlining the criteria to 7 guarantee participation by the recycling association (recicladora) in bidding processes for sanitation services. 51. On December 19, 2011, via Order 275, the Constitutional Court declared UAESP’s failure to comply with the orders provided in judgment T-274 of 2003, and the general criteria provided in Order 268 of 2010, and ordered the Mayor’s Office of Bogota, through the UAESP, “to determine a plan of goals in the short term with the aim of formalizing and regulating the recycling population, which contains concrete, qualified, measurable, and verifiable actions, and which must be delivered to the Constitutional Court, as well as the 8 Office of the Inspector General of the Nation by March 31, 2012, at the latest.” 2. The signature of contracts 017 and 809 of 2012 52. On October 11, 2012, considering the previous decisions, as well as other reasons, the UAESP signed contract 017 with the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogota E.S.P. (Water and Sewers Company of Bogota E.S.P), a public company, which committed to provide “the refuse collection, sweeping, and cleaning of public areas and transportation of waste to the final dumping site in the Capital District of Bogota;” likewise, it will support the UAESP “to guarantee the inclusion of the recycler population in sanitation services (…) paying through tariffs for the work that this population does in collection and transportation of solid waste (…).” 53. Said contract records that the contractor would implement it with its own technological, economic, financial, human, and material means” (…) “except for the equipment or buildings owned by the Capital District, provided by the UAESP for the implementation of the contract.” Likewise, it states that “the contractor may contract suitable Public Sanitation Companies to provide the service in activities or areas of 9 the city.” 54. On December 4, 2012, the Water and Sewers Company of Bogota signed contract 809 with the company Water of Bogota (Agua de Bogotá), whereby the latter committed to provide sanitation services in 10 public areas of Bogota. 3. Issuance of Decree 564 of December 2012 6 Constitutional Court of Colombia, Judgment T-724/03, August 20, 2003. 7 See Constitutional Court of Colombia, Order 268, July 30, 2010. 8 Constitutional Court of Colombia, Order 275/11, October 11, 2012. 9 Inter-administrative Contract Number 017 of 2012 signed between UAESP and the Bogota Water and Sewers Company (Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá E.S.P,) October 11, 2012. 10 Annex 1. Final Judgement of the Sole-Instance Disciplinary Chamber of the Office of the Inspector General of the Nation, December 9, 2013, p. 453. Annex 1 to the additional observations from the petitioners on the merits of March 9, 2017. 9