Prior Consultation (ILO C169) and the Development Dilemma

Prior Consultation from RSPLA on Vimeo.

The video presented is the result of various seminars and research projects in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru, which the Rule of Law Program for LA promoted in order to listen to the voices of relevant actors involved in the prior consultation processes and debate possible solutions. State, enterprises, civil society, indigenous peoples and afro communities spoke about their goals, experiences and concerns. There is mistrust on the side of the communities and indigenous peoples towards the State and the industry because the fundamental guarantees and rights recognized by international and national law in these matters were insufficiently respected or deliberately bypassed in the past. There is also a risk that the prior consultation degenerates to a simple deal at the expense of the identity of communities and the natural resources, when it was originally established as an instrument to protect the cultural identity of the indigenous and tribal peoples. The debate also reaches out into ideological disputes regarding economic and development models for the continent.