FPIC has been mandated or recommended in a number of international and national legal and policy documents and promoted by many NGOs. FPIC is used in different contexts; in some cases it is used in terms of being a right to approve or veto activities, and in others in terms of being a principle which decision-making processes should aim to achieve.

However, the issue of the extent to which indigenous peoples have the right to FPIC with regards to projects in their territories is a heated debate both in international arenas as well as within national contexts. Although there is wide consensus between governments, NGOs and companies on the need for the involvement of indigenous peoples in negotiation and decision-making processes to be free, prior and informed, there is no consensus on whether indigenous peoples should have the right of consent or what consent would actually mean in practice. For this reason, institutions such as the IFC have not fully endorsed the principle of FPIC and have used the terminology ‘free prior informed consultation’ instead.