The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that governments must respect the rights of indigenous peoples to their culture and heritage and to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with ancestral land indispensable to their cultural life, 58 including taking steps to return these lands and territories.59 The Right to Participation The Declaration also provides that the state must consult with indigenous peoples in good faith and endeavour to obtain their consent on measures that may affect them.60 The right of indigenous peoples to participation has been recognised as essential to the realisation of their human rights. EMRIP has stated that the right: 61 …forms the fundamental basis for the enjoyment of the full range of human rights…Without this foundational right, the human rights of indigenous peoples, both collective and individual, cannot be fully enjoyed. The Right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent Central to the right to participation is the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent, one of the most important procedural principles in the Declaration.62 It is also an issue central to the dispute at Ihumātao. The decisions regarding the zoning of the Puketāpapa plot of land to a Special Housing Area and the sale of the land to Fletcher Building were both overseen by public bodies. The UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has declared that States “should respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in all matters covered by their specific rights”. 63 The principle of free, prior and informed consent operates as a safeguard for the collective rights of indigenous peoples.64 It is also an aspect of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination. It therefore links closely to Te Tiriti principle of tino rangatiratanga. EMRIP has provided guidance on what is required of participation processes in order to meet the minimum standards under the Declaration. EMRIP has found that where disagreements arise within indigenous communities about whether free, prior and informed consent has been achieved, such disagreements should be resolved 14