International law states that the host-country government has the primary responsibility and obligation to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and consult with them prior to the start of activities on their lands.
Sites should, with advisory support from a legal expert, analyse the host-country’s legal framework as it relates to indigenous rights and the host-country government’s recognition of and previous engagement and consultation with Indigenous Peoples. This includes:
- Ascertaining whether the host-country government has officially recognised the presence of indigenous groups within or near the site’s Area of Influence
- Establishing what government-led consultations have taken place with Indigenous Peoples in relation to the site’s activities and its potential impacts, and the outcomes of these engagements. This includes any process that may have been carried out aimed at obtaining and evidence of whether was obtained.
The host-country government may not have conducted any engagement activities with Indigenous Peoples about the site activities. The government may also have approved site activities on Indigenous Peoples’ lands without community consultation and engagement, or without a required process of . In such cases, the site should address gaps in the process undertaken to date and consult with Indigenous Peoples prior to starting any activities on their lands, where possible in collaboration with the relevant host-country government agencies (see 4I.2 Task 3 and Task 6).