Speaking up: An Orang Asli women’s collective, Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli, standing up for their rights. Ideally, South-East Asia’s indigenous peoples should have the opportunity for high-level engagement within Asean, including with the bloc’s highest levels of the political leadership, say the writers. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
SOUTH-EAST Asia has not been at the forefront of promoting human rights. In the case of the rights of indigenous peoples, the region’s record is arguably even more concerning.
Among the member states of the Asean, only a few recognise indigenous peoples, let alone protect their rights. Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam are among those that fare the poorest in this aspect. For example, Indonesia, despite its third constitutional amendment, specifically under Article 18b-2 to recognise and respect traditional communities along with their traditional customary rights, is still doing a very objectionable job denying legal protections for its indigenous peoples.
The Asean Human Rights Declaration does not do justice to the indigenous peoples of the region either, grossly ignoring them and neglecting their rights. This is despite all Asean member states voting in favour of adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.
Indigenous peoples represent, as custodians of local biodiversity and different ecosystems, a key constituent group for the preservation of environmental and ancient traditions in South-East Asia. Their role is also paramount to ensure that the region and the world will be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, yet their rights are violated consistently.
Malaysia, the current chair of Asean, recognises its indigenous peoples as Orang Asal or Orang Asli, and bears a unique responsibility, a duty actually, to them. Still, the country faces challenges in respecting and implementing native rights.
For example, in Sabah, there is ongoing encroachment of customary lands, including sea beach and mangrove forests, of indigenous Rungus communities in Bangau Beach in Kudat district by China-based Kibing Group’s silica sand mining project. The mining, considered an energy transition project as silica is used to manufacture solar panels, has disrupted the lives of the indigenous communities and the marine biodiversity ecosystem of the beach. Indigenous women members have been falsely charged by the company with trespassing for trying to access their forests.
Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean provides the region with the occasion to take a bold decision to elevate the much-ignored agenda of indigenous peoples within policymaking. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim therefore should promote an overall debate about the current status of indigenous peoples’ rights, especially as the bloc is drafting what is a popularly known as the Asean Declaration on Environmental Rights.
To better understand the current state of play concerning this ongoing process, we spoke to Robeliza Halip, the interim executive director of the Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples (REP). The REP works to promote respect of the rights of indigenous peoples in the transition to a net-zero society, advocating for a bottom up, indigenous peoples-led shift to renewable energies.
A key issue is understanding what expectations to hold from Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean in terms of affirming the roles and rights of indigenous peoples in the region.
“Particularly with the representative of Malaysia to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights [AICHR] and its present chairman, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, we are hoping that he will champion the strengthening of the protection mandate of the AICHR and not just the ‘vague’ promotion of human rights in general,” Halip said via e-mail.
To do so, it is essential for the AICHR to formally engage indigenous peoples. Ideally, indigenous peoples should have the opportunity for high-level engagement within Asean, not only with the AICHR but also with the highest levels of the political leadership under the chairmanship of Malaysia.
“We have to strengthen the level of engagement of the AICHR, at the minimum, with indigenous peoples through conduct of consultations to understand the situation of indigenous peoples in Asean for the AICHR to be able to effectively address our human rights concerns,” she said.
Further, as discussions are ongoing for the Asean Declaration on Environmental Rights, there are some increasingly worrisome concerns.
“The draft does not address the rights of indigenous peoples, including their rights to ancestral lands, territories, waters, and coastal seas and other resources, and the role of indigenous peoples’ knowledge,” reads an advocacy paper recently published by the Stockholm Environment Institute.
Halip confirmed the alarms. “Major lobby work needs to be done with the respective environment ministries of Asean countries as they are the ones who are heavily involved in that process.
“With Malaysia chairing the AICHR and with some new AICHR representatives, we hope that they will strengthen human rights and environmental protection in the declaration,” she said.
Particularly for indigenous peoples, it is important that their collective rights, as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is clearly stipulated, and recognition and strengthening of their natural resource management systems, and their right to free prior and informed consent be implemented for any policies or projects that may impact their territories and peoples, Halip added.
There is no doubt that the level of ambition in advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in the region must rise exponentially.
First of all, everything must be done to ensure that the new declaration will be fully centred on their rights. It is encouraging, for example, that the Philippines last December hosted an AICHR workshop on best practices promoting indigenous and traditional knowledge in combating climate change. Yet such initiatives, while welcome, are far from enough.
The draft of Asean Vision 2045, a strategy document that will define how this community of nations will develop over the next decades, should reaffirm the role of indigenous peoples in future Asean.
Can Malaysia chairmanship do “something” about it? We believe it should.
A possible approach could be the creation of a permanent mechanism for indigenous peoples within Asean that is fully recognised by its member states but autonomous from Asean, and completely led by indigenous peoples from the region. It can discuss the most important topics affecting them in periodic meetings. Indigenous peoples’ representatives through the mechanism could hold official interactions with relevant Asean organs on matters of their concern.
Even if the resolutions of such a body may not be binding, this would be a game changer not only for the indigenous peoples of the region but for all of Asia and beyond. – The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
Prabindra Shakya is the convenor of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy. Simone Galimberti is a freelance columnist focusing on regional integration in South-East Asia, human rights and development.
