A/HRC/18/35
standards affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples and other international instruments, but also to operationalizing and realizing
the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework.
85.
The responses received to the Special Rapporteur’s questionnaire reveal a
number of State legal and institutional frameworks, domestic court decisions, business
internal policies and pilot projects that address or are relevant to indigenous peoples’
rights in the context of extractive industries. In the opinion of the Special Rapporteur,
these various initiatives deserve careful consideration and may provide useful
guidance when devising effective models for securing the rights of indigenous peoples
in the extractive projects affecting them.
86.
The Special Rapporteur considers that his mandate is well placed within the
wider United Nations human rights system to promote the operationalization of
indigenous peoples’ rights and related institutional guarantees in the context of
resource extraction and development operations, in a manner that builds on the work
of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights and
transnational corporations and other business enterprises. This effort could be
pursued through the development of specific guidelines or principles aimed at helping
States, corporate actors and indigenous peoples in fulfilling the responsibilities that
arise from international indigenous rights standards. In the Special Rapporteur’s
view, this task is entirely within and will significantly contribute to the fulfilment of
his mandate to examine ways and means of overcoming existing obstacles to the full
and effective protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and to identify, exchange
and promote best practices.15
87.
Advancing in the development of such guidelines requires a broadly
encompassing dialogue with Governments, indigenous peoples’ organizations,
corporate actors, international institutions and other relevant stakeholders, in which
consensus-building is a key element. In order to advance towards this goal, the Special
Rapporteur has incorporated as a top priority for the second term of his mandate the
realization of consultations with stakeholders, the exchange of best practices and the
undertaking of specific expert studies in relation to indigenous peoples and extractive
industries.
88.
In undertaking this course of action, the Special Rapporteur expects to count
on, as he has done in the past, the active support of all actors concerns. Furthermore,
his work towards the operationalization of indigenous peoples’ rights can benefit from
and contribute to ongoing initiatives of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with which the
Special Rapporteur has established relations of cooperation in fulfilment of his
mandate.
89.
In view of the above, when considering the Special Rapporteur’s future action,
the Human Rights Council may wish to entrust him with the specific task of working
towards the operationalization of the rights of indigenous peoples and related
institutional guarantees in the context of natural resource extraction and development
projects affecting indigenous territories, with the aim of his presenting to the Council
a set of specific guidelines or principles in 2013. The Council may further consider the
necessity of affording additional support to the Special Rapporteur in performing this
task.
15
Human Rights Council resolution 15/14, para. 1 (a).
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