Rivera Serna

With the 1991 Political Constitution, Colombia redefined its constitutional standards, including citizen participation, social development and multiculturalism as fundamental principles. This transformed the political system, giving a key role to citizens, regions and minorities in collective management. Prior consultation is an exclusive collective right of ethnic groups, which guarantees their participation in administrative and legislative decisions that may affect them. It is a participatory and intercultural process aimed at obtaining the consent of the communities, identifying in advance probable impacts or damages to their cultural integrity. It seeks to avoid, mitigate or compensate for these effects, including social participation in the final design of projects, which implies technical and financial adjustments to respect ethnic rights.