Free, Prior, and Informed Consent and Human rights impact assessments: Lessons from Repsol's operations in Wayuu territories in La Guajira, Colombia

Abstract

Despite the clear international consensus on the need for good faith consultations with Indigenous Peoples prior to the exploitation of natural resources on their lands and territories, most companies still struggle to respect their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as an expression of their right to self-determination. This translates into companies investing in obtaining community consent, whereby the financial implications of going ahead with a project without FPIC usually overshadow the ethical reasons sustaining this core human right. Amidst the global demand for heightened human rights due diligence (HRDD), collaborative and Indigenous-led Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIA) emerge as a crucial tool to further the implementation of FPIC and HRDD at the corporate level. Given that there is still little literature on such HRIA, our systematisation of Repsol's experience on Wayuu territories in Colombia is a timely contribution to filling some of the practical gaps. Even though Repsol undoubtfully had financial reasons for not going ahead with its project in La Guajira, the case study also demonstrates that the company heavily invests in respecting Indigenous rights, an example to be followed by other companies.