Costa Rica: Indigenous to Be Consulted Over Laws and Projects

The Costa Rican parliamentary Special Commission of Reforms of Regulations ruled Monday in favor of a legislation to consult Indigenous people over projects and bills that could affect them before they are voted on and approved.

The initiative aims at aligning the Costa Rican national legislation with Convention No. 169 of the International Labor Organization, which deals specifically with the rights of Indigenous and tribal people, as well as the declaration of United Nations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Article 6 of the Convention states that governments will have to consult Indigenous peoples “not only [on] specific development projects, but also [on] broader questions of governance, and the participation of Indigenous and tribal peoples in public life.”

The country's lawmakers hope that the consulation of Indigenous peoples will become easier and more effective with the reform.

“In order to comply with the participation of minorities in the making of the laws, the consultations ... will have to be done directly to the organization that represent [the indigenous peoples,]” commented the president of the lower chamber of Congress Rafael Ortiz.

The reform states that “the legislative assembly will consult the Indigenous [communities] that live on an Indigenous territory, via their representative bodies, in order to obtain their free and informed consent before approving any project that affects this land or territory and its resources, especially in relation with the development, the use or the exploitation of mining or water resources, or any other type. The representative bodies will have to respond to the consultation within a month following its reception.”

The reform, now accepted by the special commission, will now be voted in plenary session.

So far, the ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Rights has been ratified by 20 countries.