Decision on the sixth item on the agenda: Report of the Director-General

Record of decisions | 13 November 2007

The Governing Body approved the report and, in the light of its conclusions:

(a) requested the Government to give full effect to Article 15 of Convention No. 169 and to engage in prior consultation in cases of exploration or exploitation and of natural resources, which may prejudice indigenous and tribal communities, and to ensure the participation of the peoples concerned in the various stages of the process, as well as in environmental impact studies and environmental management plans;

(b) requested the Government to endeavour to resolve any consequences of the granting of the exploration licence including by assessing, in consultation with the communities concerned, whether and to what degree their interests have been prejudiced, and where such prejudice was found, to ensure that fair compensation was provided, in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 2, of the Convention; and it hoped that, in seeking solutions to the problems affecting communities which occupy or otherwise use lands for which the licence covered by the representation has been granted, the Government should go through representative institutions or organizations so as to be able to establish and maintain a constructive dialogue under the terms of Article 6 so that the parties concerned could seek solutions to the situation faced by these communities, taking into account for this purpose paragraph 53 of the report of the tripartite committee;

(c) urged the Government to initiate a process of consultation before granting any exploration and exploitation licences covering the lands referred to in the representation and to maintain consultation and participation procedures with all the communities concerned which occupy or otherwise use these lands, whether or not they hold title of ownership, taking into account for this purpose paragraph 53 of the report of the tripartite committee;

(d) requested the Government, in consultation with indigenous peoples, to take the necessary measures to guarantee the rights of ownership and possession of indigenous peoples over the lands referred to in Article 14 of the Convention;

(e) requested the Government, in consultation with indigenous peoples, to adopt transitional measures to protect these rights while the process of the regularization of title to lands was being completed;

(f) invited the Government to develop coordinated and systematic action, within the meaning of Articles 2 and 33, with the participation of indigenous peoples, when applying the provisions of the Convention;

(g) invited the Government to make progress in the formulation and adoption of the Indigenous Peoples Consultation Bill and the appropriate regulation of consultations to be undertaken in the case of exploration or exploitation of natural resources (minerals, forests, water, etc.), in accordance with Article 15 of the Convention; this would foster the development of appropriate mechanisms for consultation and participation, thereby attenuating disputes relating to natural resources and laying the foundations for promoting processes of inclusive development;

(h) invited the Office to pursue its technical assistance and cooperation with the Government so as to facilitate the establishment of the process of consultation envisaged in points (a), (b) and (c) above and to assist the Government in the formulation of the legislation referred to in point (g) above;

(i) invited the Government to supply information to the Office regarding the application of the aforementioned items for examination by the Committee of Experts.

The Governing Body adopted the report, and particularly paragraph 60 thereof, and declared the proceedings concerning this representation closed. (GB.299/6/1(Rev.), paragraphs 60 and 61.)