Under increasingly-recognized international principles of human and Indigenous rights law, Indigenous Peoples are entitled to grant or withhold their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in relation to a program, development project or legislation that could affect their people and/or their territories. This right is recognized by a variety of international instruments, most explicitly in the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). International entities, as well as national and regional governments, have adopted treaties, guidelines, protocols and other documents that recognize at least some of the Indigenous rights arising from FPIC. FPIC is not intended to be an end in itself, nor a stand-alone procedural right, but a derivative of many sub- stantive indigenous rights that are often affected by development projects and land-use legislation. FPIC is meant to act as a safeguard of rights such as the right to self-determination, participation, non-discrimination, property, food, health and culture.
