Asia- Pacific (including Australia)

Subanon of Mount Canatuan return to the United Nations

whit — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:15:30 +0000

The UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has issued a follow up letter to the Philippine Government
(letter dated March 7th 2008 attached available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/early_warning/Philippines...)

The following is a summary of the content of the letter:

Referring to its Early Warning Urgent Action letter of August 2007 the committee states that it ‘remains preoccupied by the situation of the community of the Subanon of Mount Canatuan. It notes with concern that the situation has not improved and …

Concerns about Mining Projects in the Global South

whit — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:21:48 +0000

The issue of mining projects in the Global South is among those urgent questions that remind us how all economic activity is to be conducted with respect for human rights and the environment. It is for this reason that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has already intervened on this vital concern on a number of previous occasions.

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has also been closely monitoring the activities of Canadian mining companies around the world.

Traditional Owner wins injunction restraining Barrick Gold mine expansion

Kailash — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:39:17 +0000

Yesterday the NSW Land and Environment Court handed down a decision in favour of Wiradjuri Traditional Owner, Neville Chappy Williams, with
an injunction restraining the NSW Minister of Planning from determining the E42 Modification Request for the proposed expansion of Barrick Gold’s mine in Lake Cowal.

“We are very pleased with the result”, stated Mr. Williams, “We have been fighting against the world’s largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold, for nearly 10 years, we will continue to fight until we get justice.

Cambodia on brink of oil and mining corruption disaster; donor governments fail to act

Kailash — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:16 +0000

Global Witness report calls for immediate moratorium on both sectors until basic governance structures are in place

A corrupt elite has captured the country’s emerging oil and mineral sectors while Cambodia’s international donors turn a blind eye, a new report from anti-graft NGO Global Witness claims today.

Cambodia – one of the world’s poorest countries – could eventually earn enough from its oil, gas and minerals to become independent of foreign development aid.

ADB energy policy proposal 'misled' govts, stakeholders

Kailash — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:06:42 +0000

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) was criticized for “deliberately misleading” stakeholders and governments of its member-countries regarding its energy policy.

The bank’s energy policy draft — which governments and stakeholders had earlier commented on — “was later submitted to the ADB board for approval as a binding policy document that had already undergone public scrutiny,” NGO Forum on the ADB claimed in a statement.

As a result of this perceived irregularity, the process was a “sham of a review of the ADB’s energy policy,” said the

Maori tribes to get millions

whit — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:21:03 +0000

Wellington – The New Zealand government will pay out hundreds of
millions of dollars to a group of indigenous Maori tribes to settle
grievances going back 160 years, it said on Wednesday.

Agreements have been reached with eight tribes to give them around
NZ$300m to compensate for illegal land acquisitions and violations of
a 1840 treaty guaranteeing them control over land and other resources.

“This redress will unlock significant economic development potential
for the Iwi (tribal) groups and the regions in which they live,”
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said.

The

Encroachment - Sakai lose land to dark forces

whit — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:50:12 +0000

PHATTHALUNG : About 30 Sakai nomadic people have been brutally expelled from their ancestral forest in Pa Bon district by local influential figures and civil servants whose business interests were jeopardised by the tribe’s presence, a source says.

The ethnic minority group, the source said, was an impediment to illegal poaching and logging involving the local mafia and authorities who had encroached on the forest where they were living.

The Sakai were intimidated by b rutal tactics and forced out of settled areas in a wildlife sanctuary on Bantad mountain range so the poachers could g

CAMBODIA: Cursed by oil and poverty

Kailash — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:04:16 +0000

PHNOM PENH, 25 February 2009 (IRIN) – Having allegedly exhausted Cambodia’s timber resources to fund its 1990s civil war, business and military elites are plundering mining resources while failing to uphold international human rights and transparency standards, a new report warns.

The long-term effects could fuel corruption and contribute to a “resource curse”, whereby a tiny elite soaks up the profits instead of using oil and mining revenues to alleviate poverty, London-based Global Witness states in Country for Sale [see: http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/713/en/coun

Australia will sign UN charter on indigenous rights: Dodson

johnacuna — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:32:49 +0000

AUSTRALIA could reverse its position on a United Nations charter of indigenous rights as early as May, the Australian of the Year, Professor Mick Dodson, says.

The Howard government had misgivings that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples would elevate customary law above Western law and conflict with aspects of government policy.

United Nations criticises Indonesia’s response to Forests and Climate Change:

Kailash — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:12:49 +0100

In a statement made public on 18 March 2009, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination strongly criticises Indonesia for failing to respect indigenous peoples’ rights in relation to oil palm plantations. Oil palm converts existing forests into plantations, in part for the production of biofuels, a process that has resulted in massive forest loss in Indonesia. The Committee also raised concerns about a draft regulation on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).