Brief description of the presentation: When issues of resettlement or recognition of land rights are not properly managed in the context large scale infrastructure or extractives projects, this may trigger violence and abuses of individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. The UPR provides an international mechanism for indigenous organizations and civil society organizations to raise awareness of such impacts. They have been using UPR as a tool to raise concerns with third countries on the impact of human rights abuses caused by investments and trade, and to influence policy makers in order to improve regulatory and monitoring frameworks (with civil society participation).
Presentation objectives: The presentation will showcase of how UPR can positively contribute to the development of national plans on business and human rights possibly leading to concrete policy and legal developments to prevent future human rights abuses. The presenters will also discuss what avenues may be taken in order to balance the legitimate right of the State to promote investment projects of national interest with the conservation of ecosystems and the respect of human rights of indigenous peoples. This includes their right to participate in the whole investment project cycle, in line with the requirement set out in the UN Guiding Principles and other international human rights instruments.
