A/HRC/27/52/Add.3 34. Significantly, the Act requires that the legislation should be interpreted “in accordance with the obligations provided for in ILO Convention No. 169”,26 while the implementing regulations state that the coordination of consultations done by the Office of the Deputy Minister of Intercultural Relations must take account of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.27 35. While there are positive aspects to the consultation procedure governed by the Prior Consultation Act and its implementing regulations, the challenge now is to implement prior consultation in such a way that the full spectrum of the human rights of indigenous peoples is recognized and safeguarded. As the Special Rapporteur has noted previously, consultation should function as “a safeguard for the internationally recognized rights of indigenous peoples that are typically affected by extractive activities carried out within their territories” (A/HRC/24/41, para. 85) and not only as a mechanism for obtaining approval for the legislative or administrative measure concerned. Moreover, in the context of consultations concerning extractive industries, the State should ensure “that other applicable safeguards are implemented as well, in particular steps to minimize or offset any limitation on the rights through impact assessments, measures of mitigation, compensation and benefit sharing” (para. 88). 36. A case that could constitute a significant step forward in this respect is that of the indigenous peoples affected by petroleum-related activities in Block 1-AB. After the government announcement in 2012 that the block would be put out to tender and that the process would be subject to prior consultation, the indigenous peoples concerned jointly submitted a five-point agenda with five points that would need to be addressed in any resulting consultation process. Those items were: rehabilitation of the areas previously affected in Block 1-AB and the adjacent Block 8; the award of titles to their lands; completion of a social and environmental study; compensation for the use of the lands; and compensation for the pollution resulting from 40 years of oil exploration. In October 2013, the authorities undertook to set up a “development panel” with the participation of the Government, the company and the indigenous communities affected to seek a negotiated response to the demands of the indigenous communities. 37. The Government of Peru has made significant efforts to make progress with the implementation of the new legislative consultation mechanism. However, according to both State representatives and indigenous peoples, the Government is still in the process of building its capacity to implement prior consultation in methodological, logistical and budgetary terms. 38. In its task of overseeing the implementation of the consultation process, the Office of the Deputy Minister of Intercultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture has created various management tools.28 A first step was the formulation of a methodology guide, published in April 2013. The guide contains positive aspects and establishes many of the initial instructions for conducting prior consultation. Nevertheless, there are several sectors that promote the consultation process responsible for determining key elements of the process, including the following: the actual consultation measure; when the process should be applied; the necessary information to be provided; the involvement of legal-technical advisers; and the measures needed to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples in the 26 27 28 10 Ibid., art. 1; see also arts. 1. 5, 3, 5 and 6 of the implementing regulations. Implementing regulations, art. 1.4. Examples include: the establishment of a register of consultation interpreters and facilitators; the establishment of an administrative procedure for the right of petitition; the training of interpreters in indigenous languages; the training of indigenous representatives in prior consultation; and technical assistance for State bodies. GE.14-07246