“Indigenous Peoples and the Extractive Sector: Towards a Rights-Respecting Engagement”, 22 September 2014

It is an incontestable fact that the extractive sector has had devastating impacts on indigenous peoples. These impacts commenced with the process of colonization and continue to the present day. Despite this, the sector’s legacy has not yet been acknowledged or addressed by States and the industry. As a result, the contemporary extractive industry model continues to be premised on the rights-denying assumptions, which facilitated its historical encroachment into indigenous territories. This report identifies a range of factors which have contributed to this situation, and highlights the importance of operationalizing free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in accordance with indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, as well as its attention to the need for effective participatory oversight and regulation of the extractive sector. [Refers to BHP Billiton, BP, Corriente Resources, East Africa Mining, ExxonMobil, Intex Resources, Nautilus Minerals, Posco, Rio Tinto, Silvercorp, Tahoe Resources, Tata, TVIRD, Vedanta & Xstrata. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre welcomes responses from the companies mentioned in this report.]