Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

276 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
has been set up to research the issue and implementing the
United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework
(the section on voluntary codes explains this further). It plans
to hold a forum once a year, which should allow input from the
victims of abuses perpetrated by multinational corporations. 12
Treaty-Based Human Rights Mechanisms
There are 10 Treaty bodies that monitor implementation
of the core international human rights treaties. These include
relevant mechanisms such as the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 13
The CESCR in its recommendations to Ecuador and Colombia
asserted that indigenous peoples’ consent is required in the
context of extractive industry projects. 14 In 2009, the case
of Poma-Poma v Peru was brought before the Human Rights
Committee, using the Optional Protocol International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Human
Rights Committee stated that for indigenous participation in
decision making to be effective their FPIC was required and
that “mere consultation” was inadequate to ensure protection
of their rights under Article 27 ICCPR. 15
With regard to the Treaty bodies, however, the Committee
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(CERD) is a particularly important and relevant structure for
indigenous peoples. This is because in its role dealing with
racial discrimination, it has clearly defined its responsibility for
addressing the rights of indigenous peoples. One of the roles
of treaty bodies is clarifying issues around the conventions
(treaties) on which they are based, in what are called General
Comments. The CERD published its General Comment 23 on
Indigenous Peoples. It has many strong statements in it, including
the CERD’s view that there is a requirement for free,
prior, informed consent (FPIC) where rights will be affected,
which has been hugely beneficial in establishing FPIC as a
global standard. 16
The CERD meets twice a year in Geneva, and there are
three ways it can be useful. It conducts periodic reviews of