The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 3 • The right to self-determination is a collective right held by all members of an indigenous community or nation as a group and must be exercised in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and good faith. • Autonomous political, economic and social structures of indigenous peoples support the effective exercise of the right to self-determination by indigenous peoples. • Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters that may affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions. • The Declaration requires States to consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them. • Consultation and participation are crucial components of a consent process. 30 | Chapter 3: The content of the Declaration: Self-determination; autonomy; and participation, consultation and consent