Proposed Asian Development Bank’s policies are a setback for indigenous peoples’ rights
11 February 2008 7:00 pm

Asian Development Bank’s draft Safeguard Policy Statement has been criticised by civil society. Many say that it is unfavourable to indigenous groups for its absence of free, prior and informed consent: the proposed policy will not require the approval of the affected communities for ADB-funded projects in their ancestral domains, but only their participation in project activities in their land.
(Bangkok) Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) draft Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) has been criticised by civil society. Many say that it is unfavourable to indigenous groups for its absence of free, prior and informed consent: the proposed policy will not require the approval of the affected communities for ADB-funded projects in their ancestral domains, but only their participation in project activities in their land.

The right to free, prior and informed consent inextricably is linked to the internationally accepted right of indigenous peoples to self-determination. The NGO Forum on ADB, a network of NGOs trying to amplify their positions on ADB policies, has issued statements asking ADB to stop its public consultations and revise its draft released in October. They say that the Statement is an “unacceptable and unsuitable basis for public review and consultation”.

Please read NGOs’ and civil society organisations’ letters and position papers to ADB officials, as well as their press releases at http://www.bicusa.org/en/Article.3675.aspx .