Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) would like to provide the following recommendations to the 42nd session of the SBSTA:

This briefing paper highlights the issues and concerns of indigenous peoples in relation to climate change adaptation. It also highlights the importance of policy advocacy and the full and effective engagement of indigenous peoples in processes and mechanisms of existing governing bodies at regional and international levels.

In Asia “indigenous peoples” as a term is contentious. The fact remains, however, that the individual and collective rights of peoples who self-identify as indigenous peoples are being violated on a daily basis. All too often, their territories are sacrificed and expropriated for state-sponsored development and corporate projects that lead to gross and wide-scale violations of their collective rights, especially regarding their lands, territories, and resources.

This publication is part of the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders Network (IPHRD Net) efforts to inform actors and stakeholders of the efforts of indigenous women and their communities to address violations of their rights, particularly their collective rights as indigenous peoples. The IPHRD Net is supported by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Two-thirds of the approximate 370 million self-identified indigenous peoples are found in Asia, enriching the region’s enormous cultural and linguistic diversity. They have strong cultural attachment to the land, forests and waters and their livelihood depends on the natural resources therein. They have their own distinct languages, cultures, customary laws and social and political institutions that are very different from those of the dominant ethno-linguistic groups in their countries.

In the Mekong region, conflicts between local communities and large scale land concessions are widespread. They are often difficult to solve. In Cambodia, an innovative approach to conflict resolution was tested in a case involving a private company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), and several indigenous communities who lost some of their customary lands and forests when the company obtained a concession to grow rubber in the Province of Ratanakiri. The approach was developed by CSOs Equitable Cambodia (EC) and Inclusive Development International (IDI) with the support of QDF funding from MRLG.

Mon describes their traditional ceremonies for the forest.

Informatic poster about Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change and the REDD program.

Information leaflet on the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) on Self-Determination.

Issue poster about Indigenous Peoples in Asia and their common experiences and issues.

Issue poster about the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Indigenous Peoples.

This issue brief highlights the challenges indigenous peoples experience in securing their customary land rights in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Philippines; hence, this publication specifies recommendations for the government and CSOs in strengthening the recognition to indigenous peoples' rights.