Konsultationslagen infördes för att Sverige ska kunna leva upp till sina internationella åtaganden, främst gällande internationella mänskliga rättigheter men också för att man har planerat att tillträda en nordisk samekonvention. Lagen behövde alltså införas eftersom samerna har en särställning som urfolk i landet och med det följer vissa särskilda rättigheter. En av dessa rättigheter är rätten till inflytande i frågor som berör dem. Den svenska konsultationslagen ställer dock upp en rad begränsningar i skyldigheten att konsultera – både gällande vem som är konsultationsskyldig, vem som ska konsulteras och i vilka ärenden konsultationer ska hållas. Eftersom den svenska konsultationslagen i viss mån är baserad på de norska konsultations-reglerna finns det skäl att göra en utblick mot motsvarande norska lagstiftning och dess bakgrund för att förstå vilka överväganden man har gjort och varför man i vissa fall har gjort olika ställningstaganden i respektive land. Att lagstiftaren valt att ställa upp så många begränsningar av konsultationsskyldigheten innebär dock att det går att ifrågasätta om slutres-ultatet innebär att Sverige – genom konsultationslagen – klarar av att uppfylla de internationella åtaganden man föresatte sig i och med antagandet av lagen.

Guyana’s REDD+ model features the placement of almost all of the country’s rainforest under long-term protection in return for monetary incentives that will be used to move the country along a low carbon development trajectory. It is a model of forestry preservation and sustainable development that the Government of Guyana is developing in partnership with the Government of Norway. This model of development is part of the global climate change mitigation scheme, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus (REDD+). REDD+ is a series of initiatives focused on/in developing countries seeking to diminish carbon dioxide emissions caused by deforestation and degradation, processes recognized as being one of the leading causes of climate change. It aims to dramatically reduce these emissions by creating an incentive mechanism that will pay developing countries to halt destructive processes that lead to deforestation and degradation. Guyana’s REDD+ model has significant implications for Amerindians who occupy the forested regions of Guyana, where most REDD+ related activities are scheduled to take place. Although this model is developing in a context where the legal and political regime governing Amerindians is weak, the treatment of Amerindians in REDD+ development leaves much to be desired in terms of both recognition and protection of important human rights. This Thesis reviews Guyana’s pioneering REDD+ model to show that it is failing to safeguard Amerindian rights recognized under international human rights law. Within the framework of the law, it argues that Guyana’s actions are contrary to its international obligations regarding indigenous peoples. Appropriate measures that should be adopted by Guyana to safeguard Amerindian rights are explored and proposed in this thesis. Possible measures that can be adopted by Norway, the World Bank, and the international community to motivate Guyana to undertake reforms are also examined.

In this dissertation I explore how the international law principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) can enhance public participation, to promote environmental justice for communities affected by environmental decision-making in the mining sector in South Africa. Public participation required in terms of the mining sector environmental regulatory framework in South Africa is underscored by a requirement to ‘consult’. In chapter one, I describe how the requirement to consult differs from a requirement to secure consent in terms of FPIC. I describe public participation (i.e. consultation) requirements related to applications for rights, permits, licences and authorisations that must be in place prior to commencement of mining operations. I argue that where the level of public participation requires mere consultation, it can easily amount to a regulatory tick-box exercise given that the views of mining-affected communities can be manipulated or overlooked, with mining developments proceeding despite devastating effects on communities. In chapter two I describe how FPIC has become part of the regulatory framework governing mining activities through the court’s purposive interpretation of the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA) in Baleni and Others v Minister of Mineral Resources and Others and Maledu and Others v Itereleng Bakgatla Mineral Resources (Pty) Limited and Another. In chapter three, I engage with scholarly literature on FPIC to analyse why and how environmental justice should and can be enhanced by embedding FPIC into legislative public participation requirements. I argue that FPIC, which now forms part of South Africa’s law through the IPILRA, should be a prominent feature in public participation processes for mining-affected communities generally, and not only for informal land right holders. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

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It has been 15 years since the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized the Free, Prior and Informed consent Principle, yet it has not been able to function to its fullest potential. This Thesis aims to carry out a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the following three countries of Australia, Canada, and the United States. With the hypothesis, that the underlying factors behind this failure can be attributed to Settler-Colonialism and Global Capitalism. To carry out this study Theoretical Frameworks based on Settler-Colonial studies and a critique of the Stakeholder theory named Critical Stakeholder Analysis (CSA) will be employed. Using the existing body of research in this area of inquiry as a point of departure, this thesis attributes the failure to implement the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent principle to its fullest potential on asymmetrical power dynamics, settler-colonial structures, and profitability.

No description available.

Discussion around the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) re-intensified in the 1990s as a response to the increasing power of large corporations, the regulatory vacuum left by neoliberal market deregulation and the changing nature of the state in the context of globalization. This dissertation analyzes the constitution of CSR, grounded in political economy and situated in the context of globalization, and identifies CSR as a constitutive element of global governance. Claims made about the potential business contribution to social and economic development in developing regions are largely unsubstantiated and little is known about the impact of CSR on the people it is supposed to benefit. Mainstream literature strips CSR from its context and assumes that practice can be standardized and the results quantified. The qualitative case study analyzes the contextual practice and impact of CSR activities by EnCana Corporation, Canada’s largest independent oil and gas company, on Indigenous peoples and settler communities in Ecuador, and on the Dene Tha’ First Nation in Canada. Analysis of EnCana’s definition and implementation of CSR reveals a conflicting narrative, attempting to reconcile competitive capitalism with broad moralistic principles and ethics. Corporate culture prioritized the business case and the assumption that triple bottom line goals are compatible and mutually reinforcing. Findings from the case study demonstrate that corporate ideology remained constant across the company’s operations in the two countries, allowing adaptation of its CSR practices only within a certain range of possibilities. The case study provides evidence that EnCana Corporation had to adapt its CSR practice in response to specific articulations of local social-economic and political contexts. Specifically, CSR practices responded first, to national development goals and state capacity; and second, to Indigenous and communal resources and strategies. The findings further suggest that CSR practice creates fragile dependencies, subjecting social, ecological and social justice objectives to economic imperatives. Two important processes contribute to the creation of fragile dependencies. First, at the business-society interface, citizens are conceptualized as stakeholders; second, participation in decision-making becomes institutionalized as a limited form of consultation, often delegated to project proponents, without sufficient involvement of the state.

Over the last decades the struggle for indigenous rights has accomplished great achievements within international law. In relation to development projects and resource extraction on indigenous lands, the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) has gained increased recognition and is today expressed as an important instrument to realize indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. Nevertheless, empirical evidence have identified power asymmetries as one of the major obstacles for effective and meaningful FPIC implementation. This study investigates how power asymmetries emerge and affect the right to self-determination through the four FPIC requirements. Based on field research and by applying a relational approach, the study investigates a case of mining activities in northwestern Argentina where indigenous communities currently experience an increased interest in lithium deposits on their lands from transnational corporations. The study shows how relations characterized by dependency and clientelism create a situation where actors hold unequal power positions which permeate all FPIC requirements severely undermining the principle’s potential to fulfill its purpose. Lastly, based on the findings the study argues substantial underpinnings in terms of necessary preconditions are needed if FPIC are to be able to ensure self-determination.

Despite the increase of policies, guidelines, and developments in international law, the actual recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights remains at odds in the collaborative management of Indigenous territories. Numerous studies demonstrate that mining companies have been slow to adopt international legal developments, particularly regarding Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). States and natural resource companies often fail to adequately consult with affected Indigenous communities and rarely seek their consent before exploiting natural resources. Sweden and Canada have, despite making generalized claims about ethical behavior, respect for human rights and recognition of historical injustices, legislations that promote resource companies’ to extractivism. The purpose of this study is to examine the interpretation and implementation of FPIC in a Swedish and Canadian context, using a comparative qualitative content analysis, based on purposive sampling.  In order to investigate conflicts between the Indigenous communities, local non-communities, the state itself, and commercial mining interests in Nunavut (Canada) and Laponia (Sweden), we aim to explore what interpretations and implementations of FPIC that exist between stakeholders and what mechanisms that are used for advocating interests. By doing this, we compare the contexts with focus on how corporate policies, practices and state narratives frequently diverge from FPIC principles. The study explores the possibility of integrating the concept of ‘the culture of Peace’ or ‘Peace-Culture’ with FPIC, which emphasizes peaceful approaches to conflict resolution. The themes are presented as ‘Indigenous knowledge’, ‘Asymmetric Power relations and Triangular conflict’, as well as ‘Persisting Post-Colonial Structures’. The study indicates that both Canada and Sweden lack effective mechanisms for obtaining consent from Indigenous communities and that the conflicts emerge from a combination of structural, cultural, and extractive violence. We further propose that fostering a Peace-Culture approach could enhance the implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Ce mémoire cherche à dépasser la notion traditionnelle de la souveraineté afin de résoudre l’apparente incommensurabilité entre les revendications d’autorités territoriales des États et des peuples autochtones. À travers le cas d’étude des processus de consultation héritiers de la norme du consentement préalable, libre et éclairé (CPLE), il est démontré que l’énonciation de la norme dans le régime international des droits humains empêche le libre refus des peuples autochtones. La prédominance des intérêts étatiques au sein du système international limite une compréhension substantive de la notion de consentement à travers la crainte du « veto » autochtone, limite qui est reproduite à travers la mise en oeuvre de la norme. La déconstruction du concept du CPLE ancrée dans le contexte du colonialisme d’établissement permet d’ouvrir le champ des possibles vers une nouvelle compréhension de la norme qui soit informée par les conceptions de l’autodétermination autochtone. Au terme de cette étude, il est postulé que la résolution du conflit de significations ne peut s’effectuer qu’au sein d’une vision pluraliste de l’autorité territoriale où le libre refus des peuples autochtones est systématiquement respecté. Ainsi, cette recherche propose de se tourner vers la littérature autochtone afin d’informer le sens donné à la notion d’autodétermination. / This dissertation seeks to go beyond the traditional notion of sovereignty to resolve the apparent incommensurability between states and indigenous peoples’ claims of territorial authority. Through the case study of the consultation processes inherited from the norm of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), it is shown that the enunciation of the norm in the international human rights regime prohibits the free refusal of indigenous peoples. The predominance of state interests within the international system circumscribes a substantive understanding of the notion of consent through the fear of the indigenous “veto”, a limit reproduced through the implementation of the norm. The deconstruction of the concept of FPIC rooted in the context of settler colonialism opens up possibilities for a new understanding of the norm which can clear the way towards a new understanding guided and driven by indigenous peoples’ conceptions of self-determination. At the end of this study, it is postulated that the resolution of the conflict of meanings can only take place within a pluralist vision of territorial authority where the free refusal of indigenous peoples is systematically upheld. Thus, this research proposes to turn to indigenous literature to inform the meaning given to the notion of self-determination.