D.S No 028-2008-EM: Regulation for the Citizens Participation Process on Mining Sub-Sector

In 2008, the Peruvian President signed Decree No 028-2008-EM to regulate the individual or collective participation of every person, natural or legal, in the process of definition and application of measures related to the mining industry’s sustainable development. 

Particularly, article 3 of Decree No 028-2008-EM defines the Citizens Participation Process as a public, flexible and dynamic process looking to provide the relevant population with timely information about future or present mining activities developed in their zone. Also, this process aims to promote dialogue and agreements and channel the opinions and observations of the citizens referring to the mining activities to help the competent authority in their decisions about the sector. 

The Citizens Participation Process also seeks to prevent mining social conflicts through the building of consensus. As a result, this process allows the competent authority to consider the interest of a population eventually affected by a mining project in any decisions taken related to the project's design, approval, and execution. 

Further, Decree No 028-2008 expressly covers indigenous people's right to consultation (Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, No. 169). Article 4 establishes that the consultation process would be implemented in the mining sub-sector through the application of the Citizens Participation Process described above. 

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