'":rj' ; ACH PR A· b;fl,I.HJ' '. African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility of natural resource.v' In the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development, this is affirmed in Article 1(2) which provides that: The human right to deuelopment also implies the full realization of the right of peoples to selfde iermina tion, which includes, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise of their inalienable right to full sovereignttj over all their ruiiural wealth and resources. 238. Similarly, the Commission notes that Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides as follows: Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and deveLop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development, In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively inoolued in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programl/les affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions. 239. In the Endorois case, the Commission cited with approval a Report of the United Nations expert mechanism on indigenous peoples' rights, which states in relation to development projects affecting indigenous people that the necessity for free, prior and informed consent requires that indigenous peoples are not coerced, pressured or intimidated in their choices of development."8S /I 240. As such, the Commission agrees with the Complainants' submission that the right to development enti tIes a community to be consulted prior to a decision that affects it. The Complainants contend that the consultation must be conducted in good faith, in a culturally appropriate manner and with the objective of reaching agreement. The Complainants further submitted that when a large-scale development is likely to have a major impact on the territory of a particular community, the State has a responsibility to obtain the community's free, prior and informed consent to it. And that if the project is allowed to proceed, the State must ensure mutually acceptable benefit sharing in the exploitation of natural resources and also improve the capabilities and choices of the affected group during the process. 241. The Complainants submitted that for the state to execute its responsibility in this regard, an impact assessment must be carried out before the decision is made whether to proceed further. The Complainants submitted that by virtue of the