Indigenous Peoples

Presentation on Global Developments on Indigenous Peoples Issues and Free Prior and Informed Consent

Speaker
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Chair, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

10:00 am – 12 noon, 20 July 2007
RSDD Conference Room

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz*, chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues* (UNPFII) informed ADB staff last Friday about global developments in relation to Indigenous Peoples issues especially the planned adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples* (UNDRIP) and the application of “Free Prior and Informed Consent” in international politics.

Stressing that the Declaration has been adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, she informed ADB that UNDRIP is merely awaiting the final approval from the UN General Assembly scheduled to take place on 17 September 2007. She explained that the Declaration is a product of years of discussions between government, civil society, international organizations and Indigenous Peoples. She claimed that the Declaration is the best source of information on Indigenous Peoples views on development issues that concerns them. She briefly explained the many contentious issues of the Declaration and noted that the arguments primarily stem from the fact that the UNDRIP contains an enhancement of the way how states should interact with indigenous peoples and differs therefore from established national and international conventions dealing with lands, territories and natural resources as the UNDRIP underline collective rights and customary laws. Despite the many issues, UNPFII and the international IP community are optimistic that the UNGA will adopt the UNDRIP as many Asian governments – including the Peoples Republic of China and India have indicated their support.

Tauli-Corpuz further explained the concept of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) – its foundation, required elements, problems faced by development workers and IPs when implementing and best practices established in various parts of the world. She stressed that FPIC, the right to self determination and UNDRIP have to be considered as a package. Some view FPIC as a Principle, while others perceive it as a Right. All over the world FPIC is carried out in varying ways. Lessons from the various case studies indicate that projects pursued without consent lead to breakdowns in traditional livelihoods, norms and the social setting of Indigenous Peoples. She stressed that successful outcomes are most often achieved when

• collective land tenures are secure
• the IPs control the speed and process of negotiation
• negotiations are conducted through IP-institutions

She explained that ADB could look at the experiences of the Inter-American Development Bank in terms of effective and efficient means of conducting consultations to obtain consent. She also explained World Bank’s rationale for adopting “broad community support” as a way to operationalize “consent” and informed that the World Bank has promised to harmonize its IP policy with the UNDRIP as soon as it is adopted by the UN General Assembly. Therefore, she underlined that it is important for ADB to maintain “FPIC”, which is already a part of the IP policy, as this might become international standard very soon.FPIC has been adopted as modus operandi by the World Commission on Dams* and the Extractive Industries Review*. While there is no systematic analysis on the extent to which FPIC has been used, case studies point out that FPIC is a useful tool to reduce conflicts and conflict related delays of project implementation.

Asked about the absence of a global definition of Indigenous Peoples, she argued that locking in Indigenous Peoples in a single definition defeats the purpose of how the construct has evolved. A single definition would not be able to capture the specificities and the dynamism of the living conditions of Indigenous Peoples as

• the context of Indigenous Peoples varies at national levels and hence it is best to define them at national levels
• a single definition may exclude others

She suggested that like the World Bank, other IFIs should look at the various elements, which characterize Indigenous Peoples. She admitted that identifying IPs is particularly difficult in Asia. Identifying IPs should deal more with issues and take on board the concept of self identification.

She challenged ADB to improve the process of documenting good practices on FPIC and in engaging with Indigenous Peoples on projects it finances. She also candidly indicated UNPFII’s expectations for ADB to retain the provision in the 1998 Indigenous Peoples policy that requires for “informed consent” in its succeeding safeguards policy.

To learn more of her presentation and UNPFII Activities:

• Global Issues and FPIC Presentation [ PDF: 112kb | 31 pages ]
• UNDRIP Presentation [ PDF: 112kb | 44 pages ]
• UNWGIP Legal Commentary on FPIC [ PDF: 266kb | 20 pages ]
• UNPFII Free Prior and Informed Consent Workshop [ PDF: 112kb | 27 pages ]
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [ PDF: 56kb | 11 pages ]
• CV Vicky Tauli-Corpuz*
• UNPFII Website*