UN-REDD Programme is obliged to promote respect for, and seek the full application of, the provisions of international instruments, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which includes the right to give or withhold FPIC, particularly at the country-level. Indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities should be guaranteed the collective right to give or withhold FPIC to relevant activities under the UN-REDD Programme that takes place in or impacts the lands and resources contributing to their livelihoods.
The UN-REDD Programme is currently developing guidelines to support the right to free, prior and informed consent in order to fulfil the UN-REDD Programme’s obligations to implement UNDRIP. These guidelines will be appended to the joint FCPF and UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Stakeholder Engagement in REDD+ Readiness with a focus on Indigenous Peoples and other Forest Dependent Communities.
Elements of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC): |
| Free: | Should be free of coercion, corruption, interference, and external pressure |
| Prior: | Mutually agreed period of time in advance of an activity or process when consent should be sought |
| Informed: | The type of information that should be provided prior to seeking consent and also as part of the ongoing consent process |
| Consent: | Customary decisions made by indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities reached through their socio-cultural decision-making process |
A four-step process has been followed in order to develop the UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on FPIC:
Steps 1-3: Three regional consultations with stakeholders (June 2010 – Jan 2011)
The UN-REDD programme convened regional consultations with representatives of Indigenous Peoples and relevant civil society organizations in the 3 regions where the UN-REDD Programme is working: Africa, Asia and the Pacific (AP), and Latin America and the Caribbean. During the consultations, participants developed definitions and processes to operationalize FPIC for the UN-REDD Programme. Access related outputs and documents here.
Step 4: Public comment process (1 December 2011- 15 January 2012)
The UN-REDD Programme Guidelines FPIC developed through the regional consultations are open for a full public comment and feedback process in order to solicit input from a wider audience of stakeholders before being finalized. Comments will be accepted up until 15 January 2012 after which a final version of the Guidelines will be released. You may access the guidelines in English, French and Spanish here. Please direct all comments to jennifer.laughlin@undp.org and gayathri.sriskanthan@undpaffiliates.org by 15 January 2012.