Free Prior Informed Consent: An Obligation Under International Law Regarding Natural Resources
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Indigenous Peoples' Rights##common.commaListSeparator## Mineral Resource Extraction##common.commaListSeparator## Customary International Law##common.commaListSeparator## Natural Resource Governance##common.commaListSeparator## Prior Consultation##common.commaListSeparator## State Sovereignty##common.commaListSeparator## Good Faith Negotiations.##article.abstract##
This article examines the normative status of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a mandatory obligation under international human rights law regarding natural resource extraction. Moving beyond procedural formalities, it establishes FPIC as a substantive right anchored in customary international law and the jus cogens principle of self-determination. Through a doctrinal analysis of UNDRIP, ILO Convention No. 169, and landmark jurisprudence from regional tribunals, such as Saramaka v. Suriname and Sarayaku v. Ecuador, the study demonstrates that state sovereignty over subsurface minerals is strictly qualified by the duty to secure valid indigenous consent. The article deconstructs the legal thresholds of FPIC: "free" from coercion, strictly "prior" to project authorization, comprehensively "informed" through culturally appropriate data, and culminating in "consent" as a collective decision. Ultimately, the paper argues that FPIC requires good faith mechanisms that unequivocally recognize indigenous communities' absolute right to grant or withhold agreement.
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