I am coming from Malaysia, speaking for Indigenous peoples of Malaysia who are consisted of Orang ASK from West Malaysia, the Dayaks from Sarawak and Kadazan-Dusun from Sabah. I am from a Dayak-lban group in Sarawak. This session's theme is "Indigenous People and Conflict Resolution". The theme is very appropriate.

The principle of Free, Prior and Informed consent of indigenous peoples in relation to development affecting their lands and natural resources is a VITAL human right for Indigenous Peoples.

Free, prior informed consent is related to indigenous peoples' territorial, social and cultural rights. It is a part of the right to self-determination. The right to free, prior informed consent promotes the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples. It, too, enhances the respect of the rights of the indigenous peoples.

In the context of Indigenous People's rights to self-determination and sustainable development, the right to free, prior and informed consent to all programs and plans affecting our lands and knowledge has emerged as the standard to be applied in promoting and protecting our rights in the development process.

Free, prior and informed consent means:

1. All members of the communities, who are affected, consent to the decision.
2. Consent is determined in accordance with customary laws, rights and practices.
3. Freedom from external manipulation, interference or coercion.
4. Full disclosure of the intent and scope of the activity.
5. Decisions are made in a language and process understandable to the communities.
6. Indigenous People' customary institutions and representative organizations must be involved at all stages of the consent process.
7. Respect for the right of Indigenous Peoples to say NO.

Respect for indigenous peoples' territories and self - determination is a basic precondition for strengthening processes of partnerships and governance for sustainable development on an equal footing. Therefore, the United Nations Indigenous Peoples and Governments should promote actions which are aimed at defining and implementing a legal and political framework that guarantees Indigenous Peoples' collective rights and strengthens them as autonomous entities with specific competence in the economy, politics, social affairs, culture, administration of justice, and management of territories and resources. Indigenous Peoples are RIGHTS - HOLDERS. They are not stakeholders. They are entitled to full recognition as equal partners, in all decision-making affecting our lives, territories and well being, in the exercise of self-determination and sustainable development. Our free, prior and informed consent must be upheld for all developments affecting our territories, lands, resources and communities.

Indigenous Peoples have the collective rights to:

* Self-determination
* Their lands and territories
* Their cultural heritage and control over their own knowledge
* Free, prior and informed consent to all activities affecting their lands, territories, natural resources and traditional knowledge.

For sustainable development governance, the governments must ensure recognition of indigenous peoples' rights at all level and respect for Indigenous processes and structures of governance, including the roles of indigenous elders, men, women, youth and children and the governments must provide technical, political, and financial support to strengthen these. Countries (including my country, Malaysia) that have not done so to sign and ratify SLO Convention 169 on the rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, Indigenous must come forward to ratify this Convention. It is the responsibilities of the governments to incorporate the provisions in the convention into the national constitutions, laws and administrative matters.

It is the Governments' responsibility to guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples at all stages and at all levels of sustainable development institutions, programs and policies.

Indigenous Peoples, Governments, development agencies and NGOs, are to strengthen implementation of policies, programs and projects on sustainable development with indigenous peoples through:

(a) implementation reviews,
(b) training,
(c) capacity building programs on indigenous peoples rights,
(d) culturally appropriate social indicators, procedures, and time lines, and
(e) project management.

Donors are to establish Funds for Indigenous Peoples' Sustainable Development, which are aimed at implementing collective rights; strengthening indigenous economic and indigenous knowledge systems; demarcation and legal recognition of lands and territories and management plans, as well as conservation and sustainable use of natural resources; and strategies for strengthening application of appropriate technologies; which are initiated and led by indigenous peoples in accordance with their visions, objectives and life-plans.

For Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights, there is a need to protect and strengthen the economic, environmental, political, social, cultural and intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples within the economic, trade and financial arenas through the adoption of policies and standards by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, regional economic bodies such as the European Union, governments and corporations consistent with existing and emerging standards on indigenous peoples rights.

The governments and stakeholders should give:

* Recognition that the lands of indigenous people and their communities should be protected from activities that are environmentally unsound or that the indigenous people concerned consider to be socially and culturally inappropriate;
* Recognition of their values, traditional knowledge and resource management practices with a view to promoting environmentally sound and sustainable development;
* Recognition that traditional and direct dependence on renewable resources and ecosystems, including sustainable harvesting, continue to be essential to the cultural, economic and physical well-communities;

In conclusion I would like to stress the following matters to the governments:
* Development and strengthening of national dispute-resolution arrangements in relation to settlement of land and resource-management must be fair to the indigenous peoples;
* Support for alternative environmentally sound means of production to ensure arrangement of choices on how to improve their quality of life so that they effectively participate in sustainable development;
* Enhancement of capacity building for indigenous communities, based on the adaptation and exchange of traditional experience, knowledge and resource- management practices, to ensure their sustainable development;
* Establishment, where appropriate, of arrangements to strengthen the active participation of indigenous people and their communities in the national formulation of policies, laws and programmes relating to resource management and other development processes that may affect them, and their initiation of proposals for such policies and programmes;
* Involvement of indigenous people and their communities at the national and local levels in resource management and conservation strategies and other relevant programs established to support and review sustainable development strategies.

Sarawak Community Co-operation Institute
No. 175B Kampong Nyabor Road, P.O. Box 1404, 96008 Sibu, Sarawak