In June 2021, the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and the Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) published a report on progresses and gaps in the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs) regarding Indigenous Peoples rights and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), to mark the first decade since the adoption of the UNGPs.

Despite positive developments, the report identifies emerging threats, such as increasing violence and killings on indigenous land and of environmental defenders and the growing trend towards criminalisation through “anti-terror” laws. The report also highlights how the voluntary nature of most frameworks vast gaps between policies and practice on the ground, including in companies' supply chain.

The report analyses the practice in the extractive, food & beverage, and forestry sectors, focusing on policies and practice of mining and oil companies (BHP, Freeport McMoran, Rio Tinto, Shell, ExxonMobile, Chevron, ConocoPhilipps, BP), as well as the frameworks of multi-stakeholders initiatives (MSIs) such as the International Council on Metals and Mining (ICMM), the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Bonsucro, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), and Bettercoal. The report also issues specific recommendations for governments, companies, MSIs, and civil society organisations.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited the companies and MSIs to respond; responses and non-responses are included below. FSC said they were not in a position to respond, but they referred us and our audience to this website which outlines their position on Indigenous Peoples.