Panaghiusa welcomes UN group's report on free, prior, informed consent; calls to uphold Indigenous Peoples' rights

[TAGALOG] Panaghiusa tinatanggap ang ulat ng UN group hinggil sa malaya, nauuna, at may kaalaman na pahintulot; nananawagan na itaguyod ang karapatan ng mga Katutubo

Delivered during the August 14 "Roundtable Discussion on Free, Prior, and Informed Consent and Mining for Critical Minerals in the Philippines" with Dr. Pichamon Yeophantong, United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights member for Asia-Pacific.

Panaghiusa means solidarity, a unity through which we celebrate the victories of the Indigenous Peoples and resist the attacks they continue to face. We are a network of Indigenous Peoples’ and advocates’ organizations, committed to upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights to ancestral domains and self-determination.

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It is in this spirit that we welcome the Working Group’s efforts on the “Guidance on the right of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) in the context of business activities." 

Thank you, Dr. Pichamon, for your immediate response to what some of our colleagues have raised. Your  report affirms what Indigenous Peoples’ communities have long asserted:

• FPIC is not a procedural formality but a substantive right rooted in self‑determination;

• FPIC is not an obstacle to development, but a safeguard against dispossession and rights violations;

• Properly conducted FPIC helps protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

And while FPIC is rooted in the struggles of the Indigenous Peoples, we also recognize that other communities affected by destructive projects, including the urban poor, farmers, fisherfolk, and workers, have the right to be heard, to participate, and to defend their lands and livelihoods. Their rights must not be sidelined in the name of development. 

In the Philippines, the FPIC process is constantly undermined as mining concessions, energy projects, and agribusiness ventures proceed without genuine consent, often dividing communities and silencing the Indigenous Peoples.

The Working Group makes clear that States carry primary obligations. FPIC must be sought and obtained before any license or concession is issued. Autonomous FPIC protocols developed by the Indigenous Peoples must be respected as binding expressions of self‑determination. The Indigenous Peoples must be protected from harassment, criminalization, and violence, and governments must stop using SLAPP suits and militarization to suppress resistance. Trade and investment agreements must prioritize human rights over investor interests, explicitly incorporating FPIC. And the Indigenous Peoples must have access to justice and remedies that are culturally appropriate, collective in nature, and effective in practice. The Working Group stressed that these obligations are not optional. They are binding under international law, and they must be enforced if FPIC is to be meaningful.

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Meanwhile, in the context of the struggle of the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines, we also raise concerns about the 2026 revised FPIC Guidelines. While they claim to strengthen FPIC, they in fact introduce loopholes that weaken it. Project classifications, shortened timelines, and weakened remedies risk diluting FPIC into an administrative exercise, undermining the right of the Indigenous Peoples to say no.  

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FPIC is the uncompromising right of the Indigenous Peoples to self‑determination. It cannot be reduced to categories, rushed timelines, or remedies that fail to protect communities. To weaken FPIC is to weaken the very foundation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We call on everyone, including the international community, to hold the Philippine government accountable to the obligations identified by the Working Group. Mining for so‑called critical minerals cannot be justified if it tramples on Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Development must not be built on dispossession, but on recognition of the Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders whose consent is decisive.

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May this Working Group’s report not remain on paper, but serve as a living commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ rights. FPIC is not a checklist. FPIC is non-negotiable. FPIC is not conditional. #