10 October 2016: A manual developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in collaboration with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provides information for project managers on the right to free prior and informed consent (FPIC). The manual contains a six-step procedure to facilitate the FPIC process. It shows FPIC benefits, as well as provides the regulatory framework to be used when mainstreaming indigenous peoples’ rights within organizations’ policies and standards.

The manual is the result of a year-long consultative process between FAO and partner organizations including Action Aid, Action Against Hunger, Agencia Española de Cooperación International para el Desarrollo (AECID), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and World Vision. It provides an overview of the key elements of FPIC, who has the right to it, when it is required and what are its benefits; and includes sections on implementing FPIC and reflecting FPIC within organizations’ policies.

On implementing FPIC, the manual explains steps on: identifying the indigenous peoples concerned and their representatives; documenting geographic and demographic information through participatory mapping; designing a participatory communication plan and carrying out iterative discussions through which project information can be disclosed in a transparent way; reaching consent, documenting indigenous peoples’ needs that are to be included into the project, and agreeing on a feedback and complaints mechanism; conducting participatory monitoring and evaluation of the agreement; and documenting lessons learned. It further outlines the FPIC regulatory framework, FPIC integration through the human rights-based approach, and resources required to ensure FPIC implementation. [FAO Press Release] [Publication: Free Prior and Informed Consent: An Indigenous Peoples’ Right and a Good Practice for Local Communities – Manual for Project Practitioners]