The basis for indigenous peoples’ rights in international investment agreements

Abstract

This chapter discusses the absence and limitations of indigenous peoples’ free prior and informed consent (FPIC) and land and cultural rights in international investment agreements (IIAs), and will address in detail the rationale behind adopting an indigenous peoples’ rights methodology to assess international investment law rules. This methodology is a conceptual framework that is utilised in this chapter to examine the extent to which the rules of IIAs are coherent with the protection and promotion of indigenous peoples’ FPIC and land and cultural rights. At the most important level, it has been argued in this chapter that it is a prerequisite for the coherence of the international investment law system that it recognises indigenous peoples’ FPIC and land and cultural rights. This chapter will show how adopting an explicit indigenous peoples’ rights approach in the analysis of international investment law can increase and enhance indigenous peoples’ FPIC and land and cultural rights in the context of the international investment law system. Indigenous peoples’ rights approach in this context is a framework based on international law standards directed to protecting and promoting indigenous FPIC and land and cultural rights.