Guide to Free, Prior and Informed Consent - Publications - China and the Developing World - Advocacy and Campaigns - What We Do - Oxfam Hong Kong
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Guide to Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Around the world, large-scale infrastructure and extractive industries’ projects are being developed at a fast pace. These projects can lead to massive changes in the lives of people, their livelihoods and the environment in and around the project area. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is an important collective right that can help make projects more sustainable. It is also a right recognised in international law and as a good practice in development projects.

This guide is an introduction to FPIC. It provides basic information about the right to FPIC and how this right can help people have a say about development projects. The guide contains a practical seven step framework which aims to assist Indigenous Peoples affected by a project to collectively claim their right to FPIC. It also outlines the same principles as they apply to all project-affected communities. It includes a section as a resource to help communities understand their rights, with useful tips and information. The guide also discusses several red flags and describes the difficulties that communities could encounter.

This guide aims to help all project-affected communities better understand FPIC and how it works. It aims to offer them support and give them a resource to protect their rights when a project is proposed in their area. It is also a tool for communities to hold project developers and governments accountable.