7: Conclusion and areas for further discussion
This research is intended to foster and encourage wider recognition and respect for indigenous
rights by drawing lessons from past and current relations between multinational corporations and
indigenous peoples impacted by their development projects. The goal is to encourage constructive
dialogue based on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and especially its
provisions mandating Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all projects on indigenous lands.
It is hoped that a wider acceptance of the FPIC framework will lead to more effective resolution of
human rights and environmental challenges and a more detailed examination and discussion of
common and serious unresolved issues.
The passage of the UN Declaration, and the increased attention being paid by international institutions
to the frequently problematic relationship which the industry has with indigenous peoples, points
to the need for change. It offers the prospect of a more respectful rights based interaction, and
provides a unique opportunity for the industry to overcome its legacy.
Various corporations in the mining sector, and in associated financial institutions, have improved
their mode of expression in relation to their engagements with indigenous peoples. In some cases
this is also manifest in the adoption of better corporate policies. Nevertheless, the seriousness of
past impacts, the ongoing unremedied grievances, and the scale of future planned extraction in
indigenous areas, in our view, leave no room for complacency. Instead, these factors demonstrate the
need for involved corporations to readily commit to ensure that the internationally recognized rights
of indigenous peoples are respected. The adoption of FPIC principles by corporations and financial
institutions as the guiding framework for improved rights-based interaction will lead to reduced
conflict, the avoidance of abuses, and ultimately a more sustainable and peaceful environment for
both corporations and communities.
The report aims to establish a basis for dialogue between the industry and indigenous peoples
in relation to the operationalization of FPIC. The basic premise is that corporations have a legal
obligation to closely adhere to international standards that command respect for indigenous peoples’
rights. With this guiding principle in mind, it elaborates on the existing guidance which the human
rights regime has provided to States and corporations in relation to the operationalization of FPIC
as an essential safeguard for securing these rights. FPIC must be understood as a crucial derivative
of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination, control of their lands and resources, and
the protection of their culture, traditions, and chosen means of livelihood. The implication of this is
that indigenous peoples themselves must be the ones to define what FPIC means and how it will be
operationalized in their particular contexts.
The second section of the report aims to provide some insight into indigenous perspectives of FPIC.
It draws from interviews with indigenous peoples in regions throughout the world and provides a
synthesis of their perspectives and views categorized according to the major thematic issues raised
by them. The actual experience of indigenous peoples in Canada, Colombia and the Philippines
in attempting to assert their own rights-based conceptions of FPIC are evidence of the practical
approach which indigenous peoples throughout the world are taking to addressing the challenges
they face in protecting their rights.
The third section of the report offers an insight into the perspectives on FPIC of four of the world’s major
mining companies and incorporates some of the major themes that arose in interviews with company
representatives. The primary purpose of this section is to provide a snapshot of mining company
perspectives on FPIC and their concerns and observations in relation to its operationalization in
practice. A number of case studies of corporate engagement with FPIC are provided to contextualize
these concerns and perspectives. The research consequently provides the basis for a rich dialogue
around FPIC operationalization in which common ground can be sought to assist in the development
of a common understanding of the concept of indigenous peoples’ FPIC.
Making Free, Prior and Informed Consent a Reality
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