For sharing: most the source information of FPIC is mainly from Oxfam Australia, some my idea and from UN website. I would like to take this opportunity to share to readers and hope you will help to share it to who might be benefit from this guild line.
Purpose of the guide to Free Prior and Informed Consent
This guide is an introduction to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). It provides basic information about the right to FPIC and how this right can help people to have a say about development projects, such as dams, mines and, logging and other large infrastructure projects, which affect them in some way.
The guide is designed to assist the organisations supporting communities affected by large-scale development projects. It is a practical tool to facilitate dialogue between communities and the project developers - including companies, government and financiers. The guide contains a practical seven step framework which aims to assist Indigenous Peoples affected by a project to collectively claim their right to FPIC.
Introduction to FPIC
Indigenous Peoples have fought for the recognition by their national governments, the international community and by companies of their right to give or withhold consent for project development. The right relates directly to the right for Indigenous Peoples to control their own future and the future of their people. It has been stated as the right “to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent to actions that affect their lands,
territories and natural resource”. This is shortened to the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, or FPIC.
This right is often violated when there are large-scale development projects - like a mine, dam, highway, plantation or logging. Often Indigenous Peoples and other community members are left out of the planning and decision-making process in these projects. The outcome can be devastating. Indigenous Peoples and project-affected communities risk a permanent loss to their livelihoods and cultures. Lands can be damaged or taken without their consent. Resettlement is often forced on communities with inadequate compensation offered.
This should not happen. Indigenous Peoples are protected from this situation under International law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Safeguards also exist for other project-affected communities. Indigenous Peoples have the right to be involved in any decision that affects their lands, resources or territories. They have the right to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent. They have the right to reach a collective decision through processes defined and determined by themselves.
For non-indigenous project-affected communities, their full and effective participation in project negotiation and planning must be supported. There are 7 steps to practize the FPIC as following;
1. Find out who is developer the planned project:
First, you need to know who is planning the project that may affect your community. Then you will know who are the people who should be seeking your consent
2. Request information from the project developer:
It is important to get good information about the geographic scope of the project and to ensure that the project developer correctly identifies all potentially affected communities. If your community is not considered to be “potentially affected” by the project developer, the developer may try to avoid consulting and negotiating with your community.
3. Hold discussions within your community:
Often some parts of a community may support a project while other parts of a community oppose the project. Some project developers might try to divide communities into “for” and against” groups. This can undermine the ability of a community to make a collective decision on the project and can lead to ongoing tensions in a community. It is possible that several communities will be affected by a project but that one community will be affected more than others. If this is the case, it is important to try to develop a common approach with other communities so that the worst affected communities have a strong voice
It is important that all members of your community are involved in negotiating benefits and not just a few leaders or “elites” who may be interested in maximising their own personal benefits at the expense of the whole community. All members of your community should guard against “elite capture” of the community and developer negotiation process.
5. Seek independent advice
Even where national laws protect community rights to FPIC, things can still go wrong. Corruption, poor or no enforcement, or a lack of independence in government agencies responsible for ensuring that FPIC occurs as required by the law, can create problems for communities trying to claim their right to FPIC.
6. Make decision as community
Some project developers might attempt to get community ‘consent’ for a project by getting landowners and their representatives drunk and forcing them to sign documents. Some project developers attempt to get community ‘consent’ for a project by establishing their own community decision making processes. These processes do not involve traditional decision making structures or legitimate community representatives and are designed to obtain a ‘yes’ even though the process is fake
7. Ongoing communications with the project developer
Large-scale development projects take many years to plan and then start, and then may impact on your community for many years or even generations. The project developer should make sure your community is informed regularly about the project progress. You must be given the chance to ask questions and raise concerns. Your community’s right to FPIC must be respected throughout the whole process.
The steps described above are designed to assist you and your community claim your right to Free Prior and Informed Consent, your right to be consulted and your right to negotiate in decision-making processes that affect you.
UNDRIP, Article 28 and 29 on page 10 stated clearly about the indigenous people...they have the right to redress, by means that can include restitution or, when this is not possible, just, fair and equitable compensation, for the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used, and which have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior and informed consent. And Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination.
For more detail please download or see more on the original Guide to Free Prior and Informed Consent here: Original in English, (flashcard) and Khmer (flashcard, slide present) and the Re-published in April 2014 of FPIC in English language
FPIC is now available for some languages, please check for your own language on Oxfam Website or donwnload here
All FPIC trainer please see the Trainer's Manual from Oxfam
Watch this video, it's about rights in action: FPIC for indigenous people; produced by AIPP
Rights in Action: Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples from Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact on Vimeo.
-End-
