National Conference on Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights Held in Sabah, Malaysia

Credit: Colin Nicholas

From 6-7 November 2013, a national land conference was held in Sabah, Malaysia, to further explore Indigenous peoples' land rights following from the National Land Inquiry report of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM). The conference was organised by Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS, the national Indigenous peoples' network of Malaysia) and Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS Trust) with the support of the Rainforest Foundation Norway and Rainforest Action Network.

The conference included several expert presentations, panel discussions, and a resolution based on a number of constructive recommendations suggested by participants. Topics addressed included, among others: Indigenous peoples' rights in international law (with particular emphasis on self-determination and free, prior and informed consent), jurisprudence on Indigenous peoples' land rights, issues with conflicting claims in forest reserves, conservation areas and palm oil plantations, and mechanisms for redress and remedy such as tribunals, national commissions, and compensation schemes. For detailed real-time coverage of the conference, please visit JOAS' Facebook page and Twitter feed. Additional coverage is available in Free Malaysia Today.

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National Consultation in Sabah on Women's Rights in ASEAN

From 14-15 June, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a national consultation in Kinarut with women from East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) on human rights in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The consultation was organised by Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) and the Women's Aid Organisation, with support from the Southeast Asian Women's Caucus in ASEAN (Women's Caucus).

The two-day consultation included the following topics and activities:

• Introduction to the Women's Caucus,
• Introduction to ASEAN and its human rights mechanisms, including the ASEAN Charter and Human Rights Declaration, ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, and ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers,
• Open Space Technology to explore women's priority issues in East Malaysia,
• Introduction to UN human rights mechanisms, including legally binding instruments ratified by Malaysia, and particular focus on the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
• Discussion of strategies and plans for the Women's Caucus in East Malaysia, including advocacy strategies to use regional and international mechanisms, and
• Group feedback and circle of support and solidarity.

Please visit LEAP's Facebook page to view photo albums from the consultation.

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Natural Justice Attends Documentary Screening at UNPFII

Filmmaker Nilson Tuwe Huni Kuin

On Monday, 20 May 2013 Johanna von Braun and Laureen Manuel of Natural Justice attended the screening of a documentary film produced by, Nilson Tuwe Huni Kuin, an Indigenous filmmaker. The screening of the film was a side event to the Twelfth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), arranged by the UNDP’s Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Tribal Link Foundation.  

Mr Tuwe, the son of a traditional chief of the Huni Kuin peoples, is also a forest agent and indigenous youth leader from Acre, Brazil.  As a recipient of a Tribal Link Foundation Fellowship, he came to New York to study English, film-making and editing  with the purpose of raising awareness on the situation of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation in the Amazon. 

In his film, Mr Tuwe highlights the challenges faced by his community and other isolated peoples, brought about by infrastructure projects such as the development of roads, and the prospection of timber, petroleum and gas.  These projects drive the isolated peoples to migrate across the Peru border into Brazil and onto the land of the Huni Kuin peoples giving rise to not only the infringement of the Huni Kuin territory, but also the theft of their machetes, axes and pots, causing conflict between these Indigenous groups. The primary objective of the film is to advocate for and promote the rights of Indigenous communities at national and international levels, and to raise awareness of these challenges that they face.  The film is still being edited and is therefore not published as yet.  

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Book on the Right to Consultation for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation has recently published a book in Spanish called “The right to consultation for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America” as part of their Regional Program on the Indigenous Political Participation. The book consists of a compilation on the current stage of the right to consultation for Indigenous Peoples in several countries of Latina America, such as Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru.

The book can be found in Spanish here, with Brazil’s chapter written in Portuguese.

El Derecho de la Consulta Previa de los Pueblos Indígenas en América Latina

El Programa Regional de Participación Política Indígena (PPI) en América Latina de la Fundación Konrad Adenauer acaba de publicar el libro denominado “El derecho de la consulta previa de los Pueblos Indígenas en América Latina”. Es una recopilación del estado de consulta previa a Pueblos Indígenas en diversos países de América Latina como Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Guatemala, México, Panamá y Perú. Los diferentes autores del libro elaboran ensayos sobre los avances jurídicos en cuanto al reconocimiento de este derecho en los respectivos países, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional.

El libro está disponible en español aquí.

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Manual on Indigenous Rights in the African Human Rights System

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) and International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) recently released a manual on the promotion and protection of the rights of Indigenous populations/communities through the African Human Rights System.

According to IWGIA, over the past 10 years, ACHPR "has taken bold steps to understand, expound and address the human rights situation of indigenous communities in Africa. The African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities has been the institutional anchor for these efforts... The manual is designed as a training tool for indigenous rights activists in Africa. It is also intended to be a practical instrument for use in the training of judicial officers, lawyers, media activists and government officials on indigenous rights in Africa. The full use of this manual will only be realized if it is used to enhance the capacity of indigenous groups to constructively and sustainably engage with the African human rights system."

The manual is available for download or purchase (including in French) here.

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Our Forests, Our Life! Indigenous Peoples and REDD+ Video

The central role that indigenous peoples should play within Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is highlighted by a new community friendly video ‘’Our Forests, Our Life! Indigenous Peoples and REDD+’ released by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP).

The production explains how industrialisation has led to global warming and climate change, and that the global demand for forest products is resulting in deforestation. The international agreement to slow and eventually halt forest loss under the REDD+ mechanism within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is introduced.

The video outlines the relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to REDD+, and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). It is explained that REDD+ is not fixed and that each country will adapt REDD+ to its particular conditions, therefore the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples is essential in all phases of REDD+. The need to include the contribution and participation of indigenous women as equals within the REDD+ process is also highlighted.

This is an excellent educational resource and complementary to the REDD+ e-module.

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Major Geotagged Report on Oil Palm in Palawan, the Philippines

Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW) has just released a major report on the environmental and social impact of oil palm expansion on the Palawan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Philippines, with the support of Rainforest Rescue and the World Rainforest Movement. Part I of the report contains information about the biocultural diversity and Indigenous peoples of Palawan, the institutional and legislative framework for the oil palm industry, company strategies to gain official permits and control, the status of plantations in several municipalities, civil society opposition, and ongoing challenges and future trends. It then provides recommendations to a range of key actors, including the national and provincial governments, the Philippine Coconut Authority and Department of Agriculture, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, international organisations and donors, and civil society in the Philippines.

Part II of the report contains samples of geo-coded photos of oil palm locations and impacted areas (geotagging is the process of associating photos with specific geographic locations using GPS coordinates).

ALDAW is a Philippines-based advocacy campaign network of Indigenous peoples defending their ancestral land and resources from mining corporations, oil palm companies, top-down conservation schemes and all forms of imposed development, on Palawan Island and a fellow member of the Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas (ICCA) Consortium. Please visit ALDAW's Vimeo page, read other geo-tagged reports from Gantong and Bulanjao (Palawan), and consider signing the following petitions:

• To stop the plundering of Indigenous territories,
• To stop palm oil expansion in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and
• "No to Mining in Palawan".

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AIPP Briefing Paper on Indigenous Women & Access to Justice in Southeast Asia

In conjunction with the 57th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) has released a briefing paper entitled "Indigenous Women in Southeast Asia: Challenges in their access to justice". The briefing paper is part of AIPP's advocacy for the respect, protection and recognition of the human rights of Indigenous women. Focusing on access to justice for Indigenous women in Southeast Asia facing development-induced violence, it draws on the results of the Southeast Asia Regional Consultation on Development, Access to Justice and the Human Rights of Indigenous Women, held from 30 October-2 November, 2012, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in collaboration with the UN WOMEN Regional Office. The cases and testimonies addressed state and corporate development projects  (including dams, mines, plantations, economic land concessions, and national parks) and their impacts on the human rights of Indigenous women in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The common thread throughout the cases was the denial of the right of Indigenous peoples to determine their own path to political, social, economic, and cultural development, which was evident in the lack of efforts to undertake meaningful and substantive consultation and seek their free, prior and informed consent on all projects and activities undertaken in their communities. The lack of or limited access to justice and remedies to violations arising from development projects are exacerbated by their non-recognition as rights-holders with collective rights. Please read the full briefing paper and learn more about AIPP's programme on Indigenous women.

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Arbitrary and abusive use of power against the Pandumaan-Sipituhuta Indigenous People in North Sumatra, Indonesia

The Pandumaan-Sipituhuta Indigenous People depend on benzoin forests for their livelihoods. Since 2009 the Toba Pulp Lestari company (TPL) has been clearing the community’s forest under a concession that disregards their ancestral claim to the forests.

Peaceful resistance to the destruction of the forests
(via: https://vimeo.com/60945115) 

The community has used non-violent methods of resistance against company attempts to destroy their forests and their livelihoods and yet the communities have been repeatedly criminalised.

Between 25-26 February, 31 community members were arrested after 250 residents went to protect the benzoin forests from renewed clearing. Fifteen have since been released, 16 remain in prison in Medan.

The Pandumaan-Sipituhuta demand:

• Release all arrested community members and drop the charges against them;
• Police protection and service to the people not TPL company;
• Halt to any further plantation expansion on their lands;
• Recognition of their customary land and removing it from the concession given to Toba Pulp Lestari.

Watch this video for more detail.

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Launch of the Philippines ICCA Consortium

In the Philippines, the future of conservation is directly linked to Indigenous peoples. Recent spatial analysis shows that the vast majority of the country's remaining forests and key biodiversity areas are located within Indigenous peoples' ancestral domains. From 19-21 February, Koalisyon ng Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI, the national Indigenous peoples' coalition of the Philippines) and the Philippine Association for Inter-cultural Development (PAFID) co-hosted a workshop to establish the foundation for a national consortium on Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs). This initiative was in direct response to the Manila Declaration, which emphasises Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands and resources and the strengthening of traditional governance systems and sets out guidelines for Indigenous peoples, government and support organisations. The Declaration was agreed at the first national conference on ICCAs, held in March 2012 at the University of the Philippines.

Workshop participants were comprised of Indigenous leaders from the 7 ethnographic regions of the Philippines. Dr. Grazia Borrini-Feyerbend (Global Coordinator, ICCA Consortium), Samson Pedragosa (PAFID and ICCA Consortium Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator), and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice and ICCA Consortium International Policy Assistant) served as resource people on successes, challenges, and lessons learned from ICCAs around the world and in international law and policy. Other speakers included Honourable Teddy Baguilat (Chairman, Committee on National Cultural Communities, House of Representatives of the Philippines), Folay Eleazar (Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources), and Toshihiro Tanaka (Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP).

Many thanks to KASAPI, PAFID and PAWB for their generous hospitality and congratulations to the Indigenous leaders on this exciting initiative!

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EMRIP Submission on Indigenous Peoples and Access to Justice

Orang asli (Indigenous peoples) of Malaysia celebrate a

successful High Court judgment in 2012. Photo via The Star.

On 11 February, Natural Justice made two submissions to a Human Rights Council-mandated study by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) on access to justice in the protection and promotion of the rights of Indigenous peoples. The draft study will be presented at the sixth session of EMRIP in July.

The first submission had a global focus and consisted of two parts. Part I included inputs and experiences from several countries in Asia, Africa, and North and South America, with particular emphasis on the protection and stewardship of Indigenous peoples’ customary territories and resources. These were primarily drawn from a series of legal reviews coordinated in 2012 by Natural Justice and Kalpavriksh on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA) Consortium.  It focused on the following themes before setting out key recommendations from the legal reviews:

1. The relationship between access to justice and a range of other Indigenous peoples’ rights;
2. Systemic and structural threats to Indigenous peoples’ rights and their territories and resources;
3. Judicial systems themselves as a barrier to justice;
4. Landmark judgments;
5. Landmark legislation; and
6. Continuing challenges with implementation and compliance.

Part II then suggested biocultural community protocols as an innovative tool for integrated legal empowerment to enable Indigenous peoples to access justice and to assert and affirm a range of other rights and responsibilities.

The second submission was a joint submission in French in collaboration with Programme d’Intégration et de Développement du Peuple Pygmée au Kivu (PIDP-Kivu) and focused on the particular challenges that the Indigenous peoples of North Kivu face in relation to access justice. These and other submissions by Natural Justice are available here.

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Miskitu BCP Launched in Honduras

Moskitia Asla Takanka (MASTA), a Miskitu community-based organisation, has developed and launched a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) with technical assistance from Natural Justice and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Regional Office for Mesoamerica. The BCP seeks to assert the right to and guide the process of obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for projects in La Moskitia.

The Miskitu community, with a population of around 70 000, live in the tropical rainforest ecosystems of La Moskitia in eastern Honduras. They are facing a series of challenges in their traditional territory, ranging from the destruction of primary forests through agricultural expansion, illegal trade of flora, fauna and drugs, as well as the commercial exploitation of their sub-soil resources. 

To face these and other threats to their natural and cultural environment, MASTA has focused their protocol on defining a mechanism for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), a vital procedural right that has often been ignored by government and non-governmental development projects. The process of developing the BCP was guided by MASTA, together with representatives from 12 territorial councils and their respective community councils. With this protocol, MASTA is seeking to guarantee that future consultation and consent-seeking processes respect the Miskitu’s own institutions and decision-making procedures. 

To publicise the protocol and its implications to key stakeholders and other communities and organisations advancing Indigenous peoples’ rights, the protocol was presented to the public at an event in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in early November 2012. Further events are planned within the communities of La Moskitia for early 2013. 

The Biocultural Community Protocol of the Miskitu can be downloaded here. An article about the protocol published in the Honduran newspaper La Tribuna can be accessed here.

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Special Rapporteur's Annual Report to UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly hall. (Courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, presented his annual report to  the 67th Session of the General Assembly, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 18/8. In his report (available here), the Special Rapporteur provides a summary of his activities since his previous report to the General Assembly in 2011.

According to the report's summary, he "also provides comments on the need to harmonize the myriad activities within the United Nations system which affect Indigenous peoples. Specific United Nations processes and programmes reviewed include those relating to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; the World Intellectual Property Organization; the Convention on Biological Diversity; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development; the World Bank Group; and programmes aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. 

The Special Rapporteur notes that the United Nations system has done important work to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples. However, greater efforts are needed to maximize action throughout the United Nations system to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples and to ensure that all actions within the system which affect Indigenous peoples are in harmony with their rights, particularly their rights as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Special Rapporteur makes a series of recommendations to this end."

More information about the Special Rapporteur is available on his website.

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