UN Guiding Principles are built around the following three pillars known as the
Protect, Respect and Remedy framework:
•
The State duty to protect human rights
•
The corporate responsibility to respect human rights
•
The need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective
remedies when breached.92
In addition to the UN Guiding Principles, the UN Global Compact, which is the
world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative,93 has developed a Practice Note
for how businesses should obtain free, prior and informed consent from indigenous
peoples.94 The Practice Note states that companies should conduct an analysis of
lands and resources that indigenous peoples have traditionally controlled or
used.95 It further states that in order to obtain consent that is free, prior and
informed, companies must engage in meaningful, good faith consultations with
indigenous peoples.
EMRIP has also provided guidance on this issue, noting that States are responsible
for ensuring the adequacy of consultation and consent procedures between
indigenous peoples and private companies.96 To this end, EMRIP has found that
States should establish procedures for regulating, verifying and monitoring such
consultation processes.97
The Government has agreed to initiate a National Plan of Action on the UN Guiding
Principles.98 This initiative will be an important measure towards promoting best
practice approaches to human rights among the business community.
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