February 2018 - Ricarda Roesch, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg The right of communities to give or withhold their consent to decisions that affect them à concessions and land grabs deeply affect communities. FPIC is originally an indigenous right, but increasingly recognised as a right of local communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

1. FACT SHEET
„The right to free, prior and informed consent“ (FPIC) in Liberia
Ricarda Roesch, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
1. Background
• The right of communities to give or withhold their consent to decisions that affect them à
concessions and land grabs deeply affect communities
• FPIC is originally an indigenous right, but increasingly recognised as a right of local communities in
sub-Saharan Africa
2. Mining sector
Legal situation
• all sub-soil natural resources belong to the state (Art. 7, Constitution of Liberia; Section 2.1.
Mining and Minerals Law)
• concessions are granted by the state
• compensation for expropriation only when private deed à customary lands to date not protected
Prospects
• ECOWAS Mining Code:
o was supposed to be finalized by 2012
o member states should have implemented the 2009 Directive on Mining (“Companies
shall obtain free, prior, and informed consent of local communities before exploration
begins and prior to each subsequent phase of mining and post-mining operations”)
• Land Rights Act:
o Passed House of Representatives in 2017
o Recognises customary ownership of land to some extent
o state can still expropriate in the public interest, but needs to make reasonable, good
faith efforts to lease the land first à no veto right (Art. 54)
• self-certification: it can make sense to check the respective company’s corporate social
commitments and to use complaint mechanisms, if there are any
• Transparency and implementation of social agreements (MoUs) is a big issue that can be
addressed by NGOs
3. Agriculture
Legal situation
• resources do not belong to the state
• But: customary land rights are not recognised
• Only if communities have a deed, they have the right to be compensated/ resettled
• Most palm oil companies are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
o New plantings are only permitted with the FPIC of affected communities
o There is a complaint mechanism that has been successfully used
o companies themselves should have their own complaint mechanism
Prospects
• Land Rights bill would impact future concessions
• For existing concessions, the RSPO is the only possible avenue (even though NGOs are
underrepresented in the RSPO structures)
• Transparency and implementation of social agreements (MoUs) is a big issue that can be
addressed by NGOs
4. Forestry
Legal situation
• The only concessions currently awarded are for „Community Forests“
• Communities can get their forests registered for a duration of 25 years by going through “9
steps”
• They can conclude „Third Party agreements“ with companies for logging

2. • No specific regulation for the concession negotiations
• Forest products may only be exported to the EU (EU timber regulation), when they comply
with the Community Rights Law amongst others à increased pressure
Prospects
• Community forestry is quite new, so the long-term impact need to be closely observed
• Legal situation is relatively good, but the FDA has very limited capacities
• NGOs are strongly needed in order to help communities to go through the nine steps, to
disseminate information about their rights and to ensure fair concession negotiations
• Companies could be pushed towards joining the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)