Free Prior and Informed Consent in the UN
We’re continuing our series analysing the major elements in the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, with a focus today on the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. If respected and enshrined in law, Free, Prior and Informed Consent would impact on land rights, resources, mining, development and the return of cultural property. It would also protect Traditional Owners from the ongoing threat of federal government plans to build a nuclear waste dump in remote regions of Australia. Member of the UN working group on the rights of Indigenous People, Les Malezer, says the idea of free, prior and informed consent first appeared in the mid 1990s. Mr Malezer says the Australian government is one of the former colonies which wants to limit the rights of Indigenous People within the UN Declaration.