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Kabila

How free, prior and informed consent works

The steps a government or company should follow before a project that affects an indigenous people's land or life.

before any approvalif yesProject proposedFind who decidesShare full factsCommunity discussesYes, no or conditionsAgreement recordedMonitor and review

  1. Project proposed. Someone proposes a project on or near indigenous land. 'Prior' means the people must be asked at this point, before licences are granted or work starts, not afterwards.
  2. Find who decides. The proposer must find out who is affected and who can speak for them. The community chooses its own representatives. Outsiders may not pick a convenient leader.
  3. Share full facts. 'Informed' means the full picture: what will be built, for how long, what could go wrong, and who profits. It must be explained in the community's language.
  4. Community discusses. 'Free' means no pressure. The community discusses in its own forums, at its own pace. Paying individuals to agree, or sending police to meetings, breaks this rule.
  5. Yes, no or conditions. 'Consent' means the answer can be no. In 2013 twelve village councils of the Dongria Kondh and their neighbours in Odisha, India, all rejected a bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri hills.
  6. Agreement recorded. If the people agree, the terms are set down in a form both sides can enforce. These can include payments, jobs, protection of sacred sites and ways to raise complaints.
  7. Monitor and review. Consent is not a single signature. The community watches how promises are kept. If the project changes or expands, the process starts again.

Read the lesson

  1. Free, prior and informed consentFree, prior and informed consent is the principle that a people must agree before a project affects its land or life. You will learn what each word requires and how the principle works in practice.

Seven peoples, once a week

Every Monday: seven peoples you may never have heard of, who they are and where they live.