ABSTRACT
In his final thematic report to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council as the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya responded to indigenous peoples’ concerns about human rights and the extractive industries. This sector-specific report is the result of five years of direct searching engagement with states, indigenous peoples and resource development companies around the world. Anaya opens his report with a stark statement:
Anaya, whose mandate was to advance the rights of indigenous peoples on a global scale, follows his opening statement with a qualifier, noting that simply because there are issues, it cannot be assumed that the interests of extractive industries and indigenous peoples are entirely, or always, at odds. The Special Rapporteur explains that he encountered situations where indigenous peoples had agreed to industrial-scale resource extraction within their territories or had themselves sought to engage in extractive activities. After this brief acknowledgement, Anaya launches into a scathing critique of extractive industries and states that the prevailing business model for the extraction of natural resources within indigenous territories does not lend itself to the fulfilment of indigenous peoples’ rights. He argued, as he had argued before (Anaya, 2012, para.74), that:
In outlining his agenda for change, Anaya positions the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as a “general rule” for extractive industries seeking to operate within indigenous territories. He reminds readers that FPIC is articulated in several provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and continues to gain acceptance in practice.
