Defining Indigenous

Indonesia: Promised task force on indigenous rights in Indonesia hits snag

whit — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 12:27:17 +0100

Indigenous leaders were expecting the Environment and Forestry Minister to announce the formation of the task force in a speech at the Nusantara Festival in Bali last week.

Instead, the minister asked for trust and patience while the government ‘harmonizes’ the proposal.

The task force’s mandate would include recommending pardons for wrongfully convicted citizens and working with the legislature to pass a draft bill on indigenous rights.

Last Sunday on the Indonesian island of Bali, the country’s environment and forestry minister had the uncomfortable task of telling hundred

Asian states urged to address discrimination against tribal groups

whit — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 13:03:58 +0100

It is about time that Asian states put a stop to the discrimination of indigenous peoples around the region, a U.N. official said.

“The sad situation is many indigenous peoples are not recognized in many Asian countries,” Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, U.N.

Cambodia - M’kiri indigenous rally blocked

whit — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 12:37:06 +0100

Hundreds of indigenous peoples in Mondulkiri are planning to lodge a complaint with the National Assembly and relevant ministries to demand the ouster of the provincial governor after authorities yesterday pre-emptively shut down celebrations in honour of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Around 700 members of the Phnong ethnic group in Pou Chrei commune’s Puo Tang village, in Mondulkiri’s Pech Chreada district, slaughtered chickens, pigs and a buffalo in a ritual yesterday.

But when community members had attempted to set up a venue for celebrations on Satu

“Respect Orang Asal Territorial Domain (Wilayah Adat),” JOAS asserts

whit — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 12:46:35 +0100

Despite Malaysia’s endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, which outlines the rights that the government should respect and recognise, serious gaps in our laws, policies and administration in recognizing Orang Asal customary land continue to persist.

The finding is part of a seminar held during the national-level Perayaan Hari Orang Asal SeDunia (PHOAS) to celebrate the achievements of the Indigenous Peoples, hosted by Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS).

The seminar attended by over 300 participants, highlights the them

New development bank must protect Asian indigenous people's rights

whit — Sun, 24 May 2015 13:43:47 +0100

LONDON – Indigenous people’s rights must be protected by the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to prevent them being abused during big bank-funded projects, the United Nations’ top indigenous rights official said.

If projects like hydroelectric dams, highways and pipelines, which have violated indigenous people’s rights in the past, are planned in their lands, they should be consulted and their consent obtained beforehand, she said.

The China-led bank will provide loans for infrastructure projects across Asia to address a shortfall of $8 trillion for crucial transport, tele

Mongolia: 'When I was herding I had a plentiful life

whit — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 09:43:23 +0000

... ‘Now I am working for another and have lost my independence’

A new report reveals the often devastating impact of big development projects on local communities. Sukhgerel Dugersuren interviewed the nomads in Mongolia being displaced by mines

In 2014 the International Accountability Project asked their global advocacy team to look at eight projects funded by the World Bank and other development banks around the world.

World Bank Makes Killing Indigenous Peoples More Profitable

whit — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 12:52:06 +0000

The World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework draft neglects mentions Indigenous rights

Washington, D.C. – Not only does the World Bank’s new Environment and Social Framework (ESF) draft incentivize governments to ignore Indigenous peoples, it strategically neglects Indigenous and human rights of Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) and protection from forced evictions.

Ministry of Forestry obstructs law on indigenous peoples’ rights in Indonesia

whit — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 15:53:36 +0100

In 2003, at its second congress the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) made its first demands for a special law on indigenous peoples. Since then huge progress has been made on indigenous rights in Indonesia.

But the law on the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (PPHMHA Bill) is still in draft form.

A brief history of the (PPHMHA Bill)

Yance Arizona and Erasmus Cahyadi are two Indonesian lawyers. Arizona works at the Epistema Institute and Cahyadi is Advocacy Manager at AMAN.

IACHR Publishes Report: “Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact in the Americas”

whit — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 12:37:22 +0100

Washington, D.C.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) today published the report “Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact in the Americas,” which addresses the situation of peoples who were not colonized and who do not have permanent relations with today’s predominant national societies. Many of these peoples have disappeared, and the few that survive are in a unique situation of vulnerability because they cannot advocate for their own rights.

World Bank Poised to Deny Africa's Indigenous Peoples Their Rights

whit — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:14:13 +0100

In 2005, indigenous “pygmy” communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) filed an official complaint with the World Bank, citing breaches in the World Bank’s procedures that could compromise their territories in Congo’s vast rainforest. The indigenous community alleged that the Bank failed to afford them their rights as indigenous peoples as the Bank kick-started a process to convert portions of pygmy territories in the Congo rainforest into logging concessions.