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This is a public service announcement about the coronavirus or Covid-19 disease outbreak.
The Covid-19 Pandemic is upon us, and we all need to adhere to all the hygiene protocols.
While it is important to ensure the well-being of our elders in the time of this global pandemic, let us take care of our children too. If this is new for us, imagine the psychological impact it has on our young ones. Take the time to explain it to them, first hand, as opposed to what they see and hear on social media, television and radio.

This is a public service announcement about the coronavirus or Covid-19 disease outbreak.
While we adhere to the precautionary measures that prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it is important to strengthen the defenses in our body through responsible and healthy nourishment. Having a healthy immune system means that our bodies can fight the virus.
Within the community there are a great variety of foods that grow and are produced that can cover the needs of our families and of those elders who live alone.

El Covid-19 sigue siendo una situación de gravedad, sobre todo ahora con las nuevas variaciones del virus que se extiende por todo el mundo afectando a muchos países, principalmente a las comunidades Indígenas donde ahora ya no solo los niños y ancianos son vulnerables, pues las nuevas variaciones de Covid19 están afectando a todos en general.

Ha pasado más de un año y los efectos por covid-19 se siguen sintiendo con mayor fuerza debido a la segunda ola y sus variaciones, (según la revista RTVE a la fecha se han registrado 3,348,843 muertes en el mundo). Ante esta situación alarmante se han acelerado algunas medidas para evitar que más personas se sigan contagiando, entre ellas la aplicación de vacunas contra covid-19, la cual en muchos países ya se ha administrado a personal médico, servidores públicos y personas de la tercera edad.

Forum discussion on the right to Free, Prior, Informed Consent. Part of a series  of 13 programs, produced by Shamantha Mani, K'taka Commnity Radio, India

Forum discussion on the right to Free, Prior, Informed Consent. Part of a series of 13 programs, produced by Shamantha Mani, K'taka Commnity Radio, India

The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent means that governments have to inform indigenous communities about any development projects they want to start in their territories, and listen to their opinions before beginning the project.

The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent belongs to all Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous communities should not let governments continue to destroy their territories and violate their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

It is important that indigenous communities elect leaders who will fight for the interests of their people and not the interests of the government.

Article 10 of the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples states that no one can forcibly displace indigenous communities from their territories.

States must obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples before taking legislative or administrative measures which will affect them.

Governments cannot store dangerous materials on Indigenous Peoples’ lands without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

States should obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent before approving any development project that will affect the lands and resources of Indigenous Peoples.

The UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples along with other international instruments, recognises the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent as a right of Indigenous Peoples.

For Indigenous Peoples, the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is a fundamental, inherent and inalienable right.

Governments are obligated to comply with the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent that belongs to all Indigenous Peoples.

The negotiation process between the government and Indigenous Peoples should be free of threats, bribes or any manipulation by the government of the decisions of Indigenous Peoples.

It is important that indigenous communities obtain sufficient information prior to the start of a project in order to have an accurate discussion about the potential changes.

It is important to have all the information about the potential impacts of development projects on the environment, the community and the people. The information should be available in a way in which everyone can understand, and in the native language of the people it will affect.

The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is stated in national and international laws, and can be applied in defence of lands and territories when there is a project that will cause irreparable damage.

It is important to demand that this law is complied with because it protects the environment, guarantees clean water and air, and it is a mechanism of controlling development projects to ensure that truly benefit indigenous communities.

The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent clearly states that the government should not force people to change their method of organisation, thinking, or decision making, nor spread inaccurate information to misinform Indigenous Peoples.

In order to ensure that the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is complied with, there should be community meetings which make people aware of what is happening and could happen in their area. In addition to this, projects must be supervised in order to ensure that decisions made in the community meetings, are implemented during the development project.

For the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent to be correctly applied, it is important to know that this right is applicable to all Indigenous Peoples. It must be adhered to with respect for indigenous communities’ own methods of communication and each person’s opinion must be heard. Furthermore, it means that there should be meetings with representatives of the government, companies, and Indigenous Peoples in order to arrive at an agreement that benefits the community.