Fourth Section
Requirements of consent:
that it be free, prior informed
and obtained in good faith.
Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
defines the consent that must be sought from Indigenous Peoples via consultations
as free, prior and informed and obtained in good faith.
4.1 Free
The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Expert
Mechanism) and the Permanent Forum understand that: The element of “free”
implies no coercion, intimidation or manipulation.30
The Special Rapporteur considers in this sense that States should make every effort
to allow Indigenous Peoples to organise themselves and freely determine their
representatives for consultation proceedings, and should provide a climate of
respect and support for the authority of those representatives. For their part,
Indigenous Peoples should work, when needed, to clarify and consolidate their
representative organisations and structures in order that they may function effectively
in relation to consultation procedures.
The potential for Indigenous Peoples to grant their consent freely, without coercion,
intimidation or manipulation is dependent on their own organisational and
30 (A/HRC/18/42; page 22; paragraph 25) /(E/C.19/2005/3; page 13; paragraph 46)
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