A/HRC/15/37 international and national rules, indigenous peoples have maintained, and continue to maintain, ties to their traditional territories by participating in their control and management. These ties are, moreover, collective, and therefore go far beyond the individual rights of the members of these groups. 3. The State’s duty to consult, and related corporate responsibilities 60. In his previous report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur stressed that the failure of States to comply with the duty to consult with indigenous peoples before carrying out activities that affected them, and in particular in relation to corporate projects likely to have an impact on indigenous peoples, had regularly given rise to “conflictive situations, with indigenous expressions of anger and mistrust, which, in some cases, have spiralled into violence”.46 61. According to well-established principles of international law, the duty to consult indigenous peoples, like other human rights obligations, is a responsibility that falls mainly to States.47 However, in practice, States often delegate companies, formally or informally, to carry out such consultations. Delegation, besides not absolving the State of its ultimate responsibility to consult, “may not be desirable, and can even be problematic, given that the interests of the private company, generally speaking, are principally lucrative and thus cannot be in complete alignment with the public interest or the best interests of the indigenous peoples concerned”.48 Moreover, in most cases, companies, even while acting in good faith, do not always have an adequate understanding of the relevant international standards and do not have internal codes of conduct reflecting them.49 62. What is the relationship between the State’s duty to consult and consultations carried out by private companies? First, in accordance with international rules, States must consult indigenous peoples prior to the authorization of any measure that may have a direct impact on their rights, particularly in relation to activities carried out in indigenous traditional territories (Declaration, arts. 19, 32 (2); ILO Convention No. 169, arts. 6 and 15). Consultations must be conducted in accordance with the criteria laid down in international standards, which were analysed by the Special Rapporteur in his previous report and which, in some cases, require the consent of the indigenous peoples concerned.50 63. Where private companies are to be granted the legal right to carry out activities (either through an actual concession, a production sharing contract or a service delivery agreement), the State must carry out consultations in the initial phases of the project, ideally during the inventory phase and certainly before the invitation to tender and the awarding of the concession. The need for prior consultations is even more evident in the case of public corporation activities. 64. Consultation is a process of dialogue or negotiation and, depending on the specific circumstances of the case, should not be viewed as a single event. In many cases, especially corporate projects such as dam and infrastructure construction, or exploitation of mining resources or hydrocarbons, various administrative decisions may need to be taken, for example approval of environmental licences. Where such decisions involve State institutions and entail modifications to the initial plan on which the indigenous peoples concerned have already been consulted, the State must so inform them and conduct further consultations. 46 47 48 49 50 14 A/HRC/12/34, para. 36. Ibid., para. 55. Ibid., para. 55. Ibid., paras. 55 to 57. Ibid., para. 47. GE.10-15075