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Policy on Indigenous Peoples

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Policy on Indigenous Peoples

A Policy on Indigenous Peoples in Bank Operations

A basic principle in the Bank's operations is examination of all implications and effects of the development initiatives and interventions it supports. The Bank operationalizes this principle through the range of policies and practices—for example, policies and practices relating to environment, involuntary resettlement, participation, social assessment, and gender and development. Consistent with this approach, it is recommended that the Bank establish policy and practices specifically addressing indigenous peoples affected by its operations, to reflect policy elements shown below.

Policy Elements

For development interventions it supports or assists, the Bank will ensure that affected populations and persons are at least as well-off as they would have been in the absence of the intervention, or that adequate and appropriate compensation be provided. Policy should ensure equality of opportunity for indigenous peoples. Policy must ensure that Bank interventions affecting indigenous peoples are (i) consistent with the needs and aspirations of affected indigenous peoples, (ii) compatible in substance and structure with affected indigenous peoples' culture and social and economic institutions, (iii) conceived, planned, and implemented with the informed participation of affected communities, (iv) equitable in terms of development efforts and impact, and (v) not imposing the negative effects of development on indigenous peoples without appropriate and acceptable compensation. A policy together with practices addressing indigenous peoples would be applied in parallel with and would not replace or supersede other existing Bank policies and practices. Each of the elements of policy and practice addressing indigenous peoples would be considered within the context of national development policies and approaches, and the fundamental relationship between the Bank and governments would be the basis for country-specific operations in a given country.

Policy on indigenous peoples will ensure that the process of initial social assessment mandated in Bank operations includes specific consideration of indigenous peoples as a potentially affected population. If the initial social assessment identifies indigenous peoples specifically as a significantly and adversely affected population, or vulnerable to being so affected, it will be ensured that an indigenous peoples plan as described in this working paper is prepared by a government or other project sponsors.

The Bank will work to develop necessary and appropriate internal capacities for addressing indigenous peoples matters in its operational activities.

The Bank will work with borrowing member countries as appropriate and necessary to support and assist the development of capacities for addressing indigenous peoples matters. As necessary and appropriate, specific institutional development and capacity building support would be provided to both indigenous peoples communities and to governments, consistent with the Bank's policies and approaches addressing institutional development and capacity building.

In developing operational approaches to addressing indigenous peoples matters in Bank operations, policy considerations and operational approaches outlined in this paper will be adopted as the principal thrust of the Bank's policy on indigenous peoples. Application of the policy would be within the context of country-level legal frameworks and other relevant circumstances.

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