Traditional Knowledge Bulletin |
- This week in review … UN-REDD Programme launches FPIC guidelines, report on REDD+ safeguards
- Meeting prep: UNPFII-12
- Resources: IDLO books on customary justice
- Resource: Book on nature and culture
- This week in review … Participatory research programme in the Philippines documents traditional medicinal knowledge
This week in review … UN-REDD Programme launches FPIC guidelines, report on REDD+ safeguards Posted: 27 Feb 2013 04:07 AM PST Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent These guidelines outline a normative, policy and operational framework for seeking and obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the context of REDD+. They are the result of a series of regional and international consultations with indigenous peoples, forest-dependent communities, practitioners and experts, and further analysis, pilot-testing and consensus-building. The document is defined as a "working final" version, meaning that there will be periodic updates to this version, based on the application of the guidelines, increased information and experience related to the application of FPIC more generally, and continued input and feedback from governments, indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities, practitioners and experts. The guidelines address: a definition of the elements of FPIC; the UN-REDD programme policy on applying FPIC including what is required of partner countries, when is FPIC required and at what level it is applied, who seeks and who gives consent, and what should be the outcome of the FPIC process; the operational framework for seeking FPIC; and national-level grievance mechanisms. A list of annexes address, among other issues, indicative steps for a REDD+ process to respect the principle of FPIC, the role of facilitators, and tools and resources. The guidelines are accompanied by a "legal companion" providing details on international law and jurisprudence related to FPIC. It is noted that international law has now recognized that FPIC is a legal norm imposing clearing affirmative duties and obligations on States. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) includes seven provisions expressly recognizing the duty of States to secure FPIC from indigenous peoples in circumstances ranging from population relocations, the taking of cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property, any damages, occupation and uses of their lands, territories and resources, before "adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures," and prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. The UNDRIP elaborates on the application to indigenous peoples of human rights already affirmed extensively in treaties ratified by the majority of States. As such, to the extent that the duties and obligations as expressed in UNDRIP as already binding on States, they merely need to look to the Declaration to assist them in understanding how such rights might be protected for indigenous peoples as collectives, as well as their individual members. In addition, international courts and human rights bodies in Africa and the Americas have made it clear that regional human rights instruments recognize States' duties and obligations to secure FPIC. Putting REDD+ Safeguards and Safeguard Information Systems Into Practice The UN-REDD programme has also released a report titled "Putting REDD+ Safeguards and Safeguard Information Systems Into Practice," which highlights policy considerations related to country-level safeguard systems in line with the UNFCCC Cancun Agreement. The report provides a framework and information on instruments to assist countries in the development of effective and efficient REDD+ safeguards. It considers a number of steps in the development of safeguard systems for REDD+ including: defining social and environmental objectives; assessing potential benefits and risks from REDD+; assessing current safeguard systems; drafting a strategic plan or policy; and establishing a governance system. Download the guidelines on FPIC [pdf] … Download the legal companion to the UN-REDD Programme guidelines on FPIC: international law and jurisprudence affirming the requirement of FPIC [pdf] … Download the report on country-level safeguard systems [pdf] … |
Posted: 27 Feb 2013 04:03 AM PST Twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Online pre-registration for UNPFII-12 is now open, until 1 May 2013. The meeting's agenda includes: follow-up on UNPFII recommendations with regard to health, education and culture; half-day discussion on the African region; discussion on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; UNDRIP implementation; dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; a comprehensive dialogue with UN agencies and funds; and future work. Visit the meeting's webpage … |
Resources: IDLO books on customary justice Posted: 27 Feb 2013 04:00 AM PST Customary Justice: Perspectives on Legal Empowerment This edited volume explores the relationship between traditional justice and legal empowerment. It discusses key aspects of traditional justice, including the rise of customary law in justice sector reform, the effectiveness of hybrid justice systems, access to justice through community courts, customary law and land tenure, land rights and nature conservation, and the analysis of policy proposals for justice reforms based on traditional justice. Download the book [pdf] … Working with Customary Justice Systems: Post-conflict and Fragile States This edited volume showcases research conducted under the IDLO Legal Empowerment and Customary Law Research Grants Program. Through this program, seven bursaries were awarded to scholar-practitioners to evaluate the impact of an empowerment-based initiative involving customary justice. The volume aims to assist readers develop a better understanding of the relationship between customary justice and the legal empowerment of users and identify possible entry points for engaging with customary justice systems. It features chapters on initiatives implemented in Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Liberia and Uganda. It is hoped that the lessons learned and programmatic good practices identified will contribute to the toolbox of knowledge resources that programmers draw upon as they design, pilot, adjust and implement more effective interventions. Download the book [pdf] … Customary Justice: from Program Design to Impact Evaluation This volume was developed to provide guidance to international and national actors on the potential role of customary justice systems in fostering the rule of law and access to justice in post-conflict, post-disaster and development contexts. Specifically, it aims to provoke thought among practitioners about the objectives of customary law interventions, to encourage critical assessments of the criteria on which programming decisions are made, and to provide tools to assist in gauging the extent to which interventions are having a positive impact. Download the book [pdf] … |
Resource: Book on nature and culture Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:57 AM PST Nature and Culture: Rebuilding Lost Connections This book investigates the bridges linking biological and cultural diversity. An international team of authors explores the common drivers of loss, and argues that policy responses should target both forms of diversity in a novel integrative approach to conservation, thus reducing the gap between science, policy and practice. While conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges, this book shows that any hope for saving biological diversity is predicated on a concomitant effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity. Further information … |
This week in review … Participatory research programme in the Philippines documents traditional medicinal knowledge Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:55 AM PST Technology in the service of cultural diversity MANILA, PHILIPPINES: This article reports on an initiative to document the healing traditions of indigenous and local communities in the Philippines, undertaken the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, and the National Institute of Health of the University of the Philippines Manila. Documentation of the healing traditions has been done or is ongoing among many indigenous groups in the Cordillera, Sierra Madre, Palawan, Mindoro, Zamboanga and southeastern Mindanao. The output of the documentation is stored in a traditional knowledge digital library, developed and maintained by UP Manila, together with the two collaborating institutions. The digital library thus is a repository of the various cultural traditions of Philippine indigenous and local communities, that reflect the practices, knowledge, beliefs, and philosophy of what may be called "Philippine medicine." In the acknowledgement of the communities' rights to their knowledge, this national research program aims to carry out a community-based participatory approach, wherein the communities are actively and effectively involved in the documentation and protection of their cultural heritage in health. Their part is integral in defining the cultural appropriateness of the research: from assessing the project objectives, data-gathering methods and instruments, to deciding what information may be inputted in the digital library and what will be kept confidential. Read the article … |
Email delivery powered by Google | |
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment