and to provide their consent before they can be approved. We are seeing a shift from the duty to consult and accommodate to a consent-building approach between mining operators and Indigenous Nations. Indigenous participation in projects has evolved from a passive information sharing to an active participation in the management of impacts and benefits. Practices such as the negotiation and signing of Relationship Agreements/Impact and Benefit Agreements, Indigenous Participation in employment, training, contracting and community investment, Indigenous Partnerships through equity participation and benefit-sharing arrangements, and/or the establishment of Indigenous Monitoring and Environmental Committees to oversee the lifecycle of mining projects have become the new way to access land, provide certainty and create shared value for all the involved parties. In Latin America and the Caribbean, engagement and consultation with Indigenous Peoples is driven by the ILO Convention #169 which has been ratified by most countries and incorporated into national laws, aiming to protect Indigenous rights to land, culture and self-determination. The application of UNDRIP have been marked by varying degrees of implementation and acceptance, mainly being used by national and regional courts as a legal benchmark on Indigenous rights. Countries like Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico have led the trend of applying UNDRIP mainly through courts interpretations between 2007 and 2023 (Toledo, 2023). Although legal frameworks are progressive, significant implementation gaps persist, particularly regarding extractive projects on ancestral lands, with challenges including power imbalances, and ineffective participation and weak FPIC. However, there is a growing, though uneven, recognition of the need for culturally appropriate, respectful, and relationship-based engagement rather than mere check-the-box exercises, being led primarily by mining global operators, investors and Indigenous Nations. 1. EMERGING TRENDS AND BEST PRACTICES Emerging trends and best practices vary depending on the accountable party. From governments, countries like Canada have embarked on a Reconciliation Process aimed at rebuilding relationships between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Peoples. Efforts are being made to raise awareness and redress the impacts of colonization, assimilation policies, social costs and injustices of residential schools. In 2008, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established and spent six years travelling across Canada to hear from residential school survivors, Indigenous Nations, groups and organizations. A final TRC report was issued and includes 94 “Calls to Action” for governments and the private sector to implement. Call to Action #92 requires businesses to: ● adopt UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework ● commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects. ● ensure that Indigenous Peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects. 87
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