WHEREAS on 23 September 2009, the Claimants served a Notice of Arbitration on the Respondent pursuant to Article VI(3)(a)(iii) of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Ecuador concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, signed on 27 August 1993 (the “Treaty”), which provides that disputes arising under it may be submitted to an arbitration tribunal established under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law of 1976 (the “UNCITRAL Rules”).