On February 22, 2006 the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved its first ever Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples. 4 The policy contains some relatively important provisions. The policy recognizes the precarious situation of uncontacted peoples and establishes that the Bank will only finance projects that respect the right of uncontacted peoples to remain in said isolated condition and to live freely according to their culture. For IDB-financed projects that are explicitly designed to ‘benefit’ indigenous peoples, such as an education project etc., the policy stipulates that -depending on the circumstances- consultation should be carried out with a view to reaching agreement or obtaining consent. The policy also specifies that the commercial development of affected indigenous peoples’ cultural resources and knowledge should be conditioned upon their prior agreement to such development and on an equitable sharing of benefits.
These relatively positive provisions, however, are far outweighed by the deficiencies in the policy. The primary weaknesses of the policy are:
- The policy is inconsistent with international human rights law, and it specifically fails to recognize and respect the full range of indigenous peoples’ rights and interests to their customary lands, territories, and natural resources
- The policy fails to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to free prior and informed consent and the need to apply consent for all projects that affect indigenous peoples
- The policy includes many exemption clauses that may allow the Borrower to avoid complying with even a minimum standard of consultation
- In cases where the borrower should implement a good faith negotiation process, the emphasis is on mitigation and compensation measures rather than the prevention of irreparable harm
- The policy uses vague, contradictory, and inconsistent language. As such, it provides little to no meaningful restrictions on Bank activities
- The policy fails to provide effective and meaningful measures for indigenous peoples to provide input and participation throughout the project cycle
Official IDB Documents:
Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (February, 2006)
Indian Law Resource Documents
Comments Regarding the IDB’s Draft Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples
(June 2005) Spanish only “Comentarios al Borrador de la Política Operativa sobre Pueblos Indigenas BID”
10 Critical Points Regarding the Draft Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (August 2004)