A/66/288 90. In cases involving natural resource exploitation or development projects affecting indigenous lands, in order for the indigenous peoples concerned to make free and informed decisions about the project under consideration, it is necessary that they are provided with full and objective information about all aspects of the project that will affect them, including the impact of the project on their lives and environment. In this connection, it is essential for the State to carry out, with the participation of the indigenous groups concerned, environmental and social impact studies so that the full expected consequences of the project can be known. 91. Furthermore, a consensus-driven consultation process in such contexts should not only address measures to mitigate or compensate for adverse impacts of the project, but also explore and arrive at means of equitable benefit-sharing in a spirit of true partnership. C. Corporate responsibility with respect to the human rights of indigenous peoples 3 92. The international community has reached a certain level of consensus that business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights. This consensus is reflected in the many regulatory and self-regulatory frameworks governing corporate responsibility that have appeared in recent decades, at both the international and national levels. The guiding principles on business and human rights (A/HRC/17/31) of the Special Representative were endorsed by the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth session (Council resolution 17/4). Beyond the question of their legal status, the various existing instruments and mechanisms on corporate responsibility clearly reflect the existence of social expectations with regard to corporate responsibility and the need to exercise it in relation to human rights. 93. A central pillar of this normative framework is that companies have a general duty to respect international human rights standards within the context of the due diligence that must govern their activities. Due diligence is not limited to respect for the national regulations of States in which companies operate, which are inadequate in many cases, but should be governed by the international standards that are binding on those States and on the international community as a whole. Due diligence also means that companies must not contribute to States’ failure to meet their international obligations in relation to indigenous rights, nor should they endeavour to replace the role of States in the fulfilment of those obligations. The Special Rapporteur considers the following to be necessary elements of the due diligence of companies whose activities affect indigenous peoples. 1. Recognition of indigenous peoples 94. One of the fundamental difficulties facing companies that operate in indigenous territories, or whose operations affect those territories, is the absence of formal recognition of indigenous peoples by the State in which they live, or recognition limited solely to certain groups. Nevertheless, a generally accepted principle of international human rights law holds that the existence of distinct __________________ 3 18 This section summarizes the Special Rapporteur’s discussion of corporate responsibility in A/HRC/15/37 (paras. 26-91). 11-44942