A decade ago, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)...has become the universal standard on the rights of indigenous peoples. And while it remains technically non-binding, UNDRIP is the benchmark by which governments and companies are judged with regard to respecting indigenous rights. But on the eve of the ten-year anniversary of the historic document, failure of states to properly implement perhaps its most practical components is miring development projects in controversy, stranding assets, and leading to rights violations...

In Ecuador…the country’s 2008 constitution…guarantees the right to Free, Prior, Informed Consultation, which obliges the state to conduct due process of consultation of communities potentially affected by projects that affect their culture or territory. However, consultation is not the same as consent…Ecuador refuses to codify the right to consent, effectively rejecting the right of indigenous peoples to say no to government-imposed extraction projects on their ancestral territory, and has even failed to enact legal regulations to implement the constitutional guarantee to consultation…
 
In fact, the FPIC process in Ecuador has been widely shown to be anything but what the acronym stands for. It can be coerced, come under duress, or as a quid pro quo in exchange for benefits like schools or health clinics that are already existing obligations of the state. It often occurs after major decisions are made, contracts are signed, investment procured, and money has exchanged hands…The process is also rarely informed, usually consisting of a single meeting and PowerPoint presentation in a non-native language by a partisan government ministry about the economic benefits of the project, with little to no information or disclosure about environmental or social impact, or risk...
 
In some instances, no consultation takes place at all, with tragic results. A recent conflict between the Shuar indigenous people and the Chinese state run Explorcobres (EXSA) over a planned copper mine in the country’s southeastern Amazon region turned violent, leaving several Shuar injured and resulting in the death of one police officer…
 
Governments’ mismanagement of FPIC processes can cause delays, reversals, and other losses as well. The Ecuadorian government has found itself before the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights over rights violations associated with extractive projects and failure to properly consult communities…A 2014 oil tender originally for twenty-one concessions was reduced to thirteen blocks after conflicts with communities, and ultimately received only three bids after a government road show promoting the auction was met with protests in Quito, Paris, Houston, and Calgary. Andes Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC) was the only company to sign contracts for the controversial blocks, which have yet to move forward due to opposition from the Sapara nation and the Kichwa of Sarayaku.
 
…[C]ompanies and governments ought to heed past lessons of community conflict over resource extraction. A properly implemented FPIC process is a healthy component to the bottom line and the key to smart, sustainable development policy in the Amazon and beyond. History has shown that continuing to operate as business as usual over the rights and wishes of communities will end poorly for all stakeholders…