Mining, the Aluminium Industry, and Indigenous Peoples: Enhancing Corporate Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
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This publication provides an overview of the experiences that indigenous peoples have had with mining and with the wider process of primary production of aluminium in India, Australia, Cambodia, Suriname, and Guinea. Drawing from an Indigenous Peoples’ Expert Meeting held in May 2015, this publication seeks to highlight some of the key challenges that have faced indigenous peoples in their negotiations and engagement with mining companies and corporations involved in the aluminium supply chain and to propose ways in which these challenges can be addressed. This publication is intended as a contextual guide for companies involved in the aluminium industry and an entry point for understanding the perspectives and positions of indigenous peoples in relation to extractive industries in general, and aluminium production in particular. Specific guidance on identifying indigenous peoples in proposed mining areas and further guidance on the process and content of the principle of free, prior and informed consent is provided as an introduction for corporations to these issues. Mining, the Aluminium Industry, and Indigenous Peoples: Enhancing Corporate Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Chiang Mai/Gloucestershire/Gland Mining, the Aluminium Industry, and Indigenous Peoples: Enhancing Corporate Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Editors: Dr. Cathal M Doyle, Helen Tugendhat and Robeliza Halip Copy Editor: Luchie Maranan The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of AIPP, FPP and IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed by individual authors in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of AIPP, FPP and IUCN. The contents of this publication may be reproduced and distributed for non-commercial purposes provided AIPP, FPP, and IUCN are notified and the authors are acknowledged as the source. Copyright: © 2015 Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact © 2015 Forest Peoples Programme © 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Published by: Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Layout and cover design: AIPP Printing Press Front cover photos: (left to right, top to bottom): Wik peoples in Australia © Wik Projects; Hamdallaye Bauxite in Guinea © CECIDE; Bauxite on Wik Waya Coastline / Rio Tinto Alcan’s South of Embley lease © Wik Projects; Exploration for bauxite mining in Suriname © Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (VIDS) Suggested citation: Doyle, C M, H Tugendhat & Halip R, (eds.) Mining, the Aluminium Industry, and Indigenous Peoples: Enhancing Corporate Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, (AIPP, FPP, IUCN: Chiang Mai, Gloucestershire & Gland, 2015) This publication was financially supported by the: ISBN: 978-616-7898-22-3 Printed by: AIPP Printing Press Co., Ltd, Chiang Mai www.aippprinting.com i Publishers Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) AIPP is a regional organization founded in 1988 by indigenous peoples’ movements and is committed to the cause of promoting and defending indigenous peoples’ rights and human rights and articulating issues of relevance to indigenous peoples. AIPP has 47 members from 14 countries in Asia with 14 National Formations, 15 Sub-national Formations and 18 Local Formations. Of this number, six are Indigenous Women’s Organizations and four are Indigenous Youth Organizations. www.aippnet.org Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) FPP was founded in 1990 in response to the forest crisis, specifically to support indig- enous forest peoples’ struggles to defend their lands and livelihoods. FPP supports the rights of peoples who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods and works to create political space for forest peoples to secure their rights, control their lands and decide their own futures. www.forestpeoples.org International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN’s work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop pol- icy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with almost 1,300 government and NGO Members and more than 15,000 volunteer experts in 185 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by almost 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org Editors Dr. Cathal M Doyle, Research Fellow, Middlesex University Helen Tugendhat, Policy Advisor on Responsible Finance and Legal and Human Rights, Forest Peoples Programme Robeliza Halip, Section Head, Institutional Support Services, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact ii Foreword There is now increasing global attention on how to change “business as usual” practices of corporations so that they account for environmental sustainability, ensure respect for human rights and contribute to equitable development. Finding ways to ensure that corporations respect and support the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples remains a challenge in securing the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Through international processes and mechanisms such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises and the annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, as well as the development of corporate social, environmental and human rights policies, a set of global standards in relation to corporate responsibilities and approaches to human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples, is now emerging. These standards and the principles they embody, including the requirement for the free prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples in relation to corporate activities affecting their rights and interests are key steps forward in addressing conflicts, social justice and participatory and sustainable development. However, these standards and policies alone will remain insufficient unless the political will and institutional mechanisms are in place ensuring that corporations understand and respect, and that States protect the human rights of those impacted by corporate activities. The experiences re-told in this publication serve to underscore the critical importance of finding ways to improve, in practical and real terms, the experiences of indigenous peoples when faced with extractive industries in their territories. There are many lessons to be learned from these experiences that can assist in moving towards improved engagement based on an understanding of indigenous peoples’ perspectives, rights and aspirations. I join the editors in thanking the contributors and express my hope that the ASI Perfor- mance Standard can establish a benchmark of good practice that will provide a way to avoid some of the potentially devastating impacts of extractive and related industries and enable real benefits and genuine opportunities to be realised. Joan Carling Expert member, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Secretary General, Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) 10 September 2015 Acknowledgements The editors of this publication would like to thank the participants of the Indigenous Peoples’ Expert Meeting on the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) held in Chiang Mai in May 2015. The rich and varied experiences shared at that meeting form the basis of the General Statement found in this publication, and shaped the detailed recommendations and suggestions on indicators provided to the Standard Setting Group of the ASI. We are grateful for the time, invaluable inputs, and considerable efforts that they brought to bear in that meeting and in feeding into this publication. Our thanks go to Gina Castelain and Heather Rose from Aurukun, for sharing the experiences of the Wik and Wik-Waya peoples, to Sotheara Pharn for sharing the experiences of indigenous peoples with foreign mining companies in Ratanakiri in Cambodia, to Seerat Kachhap and Praful Lakra for sharing the experiences with bauxite mining in conflict zones in India, to Matek Geram for sharing his report on the aluminium smelter company and its impact to indigenous peoples in Sarawak, Malaysia, and to Marie-Josee Artist for sharing the West Suriname situation and the impacts felt by the Kali’ña and Lokono peoples. We also extend our thanks to Estebancio Castro from Fundacion para la Promocion del Conocimiento Indigena (FPCI) and Geoff Nettleton of Indigenous Peoples Links (PIPLinks) for shepherding inputs into the ASI Standard Setting Group on behalf of the attendees of the Expert Meeting. The Expert Meeting was hosted by INA House, an indigenous collective endeavour to support the economic empowerment of indigenous women’s groups in Asia, which provided excellent facilities, rooms,