Program
1000: Welcome (May-Lisbeth Brew and Bjørn Ola Tafjord)
1015: Practices of consultation with indigenous peoples in Costa Rica (Geyner Blanco & William Vega)
1145: Lunch
1300: Practices of consultation with indigenous peoples in Chile (Rafael Railaf)
1400: Practices of consultation with indigenous peoples in Guatemala (Mariel Aguilar Støen)
1500: Discussion
There will be translation between English and Spanish
About the speakers
Geyner Blanco is Maleku and advisor in indigenous affairs for the Costa Rican president. With William Vega, he has co-supervised the development of a new protocol for consultations with indigenous peoples in Costa Rica.
William Vega is a lawyer and former advisor in indigenous affairs for the Costa Rican president. With Geyner Blanco, he has co-supervised the development of a new protocol for consultations with indigenous peoples in Costa Rica.
Rafael Railaf is Mapuche and a member of the NGO Mapuche Foundation FOLIL. Founded in 2000, Mapuche Foundation FOLIL is one of the first Mapuche organizations in Europe and most of its members are first and second generation Mapuche in Europe.
Mariel Støen is associate professor at the Centre for Development and Environment, University of Oslo, and has studied practices of consultation in Guatemala.
About the seminar
The obligation to consult and obtain the consent of indigenous peoples, before interfering in their lives and territories, is increasingly recognized in international fora and different national contexts. In many places, formal protocols and bodies are being proposed or put in place in order to facilitate such consultations. However, there are still many actors – state agencies as well as private corporations – who keep rejecting, ignoring or paying only superficial attention to the demands for consultations and the relevant procedures.
In this seminar, we will learn more about how consultation processes are carried out, or not, in different countries in Indigenous/Latin America. How can consultations become events that lead to mutual understanding and binding agreements? Why can consultations by one or more parties end up being considered as theater only? What are the main challenges of consultation processes today? What do successful consultations look like? These topics and questions are highly relevant also beyond Indigenous/Latin America and they resonate strongly in Sami/Nordic contexts.
Organizers
Department of Archaeology, History, Religious Studies, and Theology (AHR) / Centre for Sami Studies (SESAM) / the research group Indigenous Religion(s): Local Grounds, Global Networks (INREL) / the research group “Politics of Culture in Latin America” (POCLAT)
For more information, please contact PhD candidate May-Lisbeth Brew (may-lisbeth.brew@uit.no / +47 77644215) or professor Bjørn Ola Tafjord (bjorn.tafjord@uit.no / +47 77645289)
The seminar is co-sponsored by NorLARNet (the Norwegian Latin America Research Network)