In his latest report, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Mr. Stavenhagen, commended the policy changes in favor of indigenous peoples in South-East Asia, but regretted the lack of implementation thereof.

Below is an article published by UNPO: 

The Hague, 13 December 2007 - In his latest report, to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council during the resumed 6^th Session, which is held from 10 to 14 December 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples states that “Indigenous peoples in Asia are among the most discriminated against, socially and economically marginalized, and politically subordinated parts of the society in the countries where they live.”

The Special Rapporteur highlighted the loss of lands amongst one of the most pressing problems of indigenous peoples, as this practice also endangers their traditional way of life. The situation in Cambodia is highlighted as particularly dire in this respect and although steps have been taken by the Philippine government to ensure land rights of indigenous peoples, slow implementation of these measures and existing claims to the land by those wanting to harvest the natural resources are not improving the situation of these peoples.  

Linked to the issue of land rights of indigenous peoples are forced evictions and relocation due to the construction of megaprojects by governments and resettlement policies which are usually carried out under the auspices of “national development”. This is a problem for instance in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic where the construction of the Nam Theun 2 dam “involves the displacement of as many as 6,200 indigenous people.” But also ‘general’ relocation policies, such as those by the governments of Vietnam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have lead to unbearable situations. In the case of the latter, “numerous Hmong communities have been forcibly relocated by the Government from their traditional lands in the highlands and resettled in so-called “focal sites”, together with other ethnic minority groups or Hmong from different clans. Reports indicate that these resettlement sites are often not arable lands, and that their traditional life has been eroded.”

Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur highlights the extremely vulnerable position of indigenous peoples in conflict ridden areas. He states that these peoples, such as the Karreni State, Mon and Shan in Myanmar have suffered the most of the civil strife that plunged the country into isolation and economic disaster: 

“Indigenous and tribal peoples in Myanmar face the worst consequences of the civil war that has stricken the country for decades. For instance, as a result of the large-scale offensive that took place in Karen State during 2006, 27,000 civilians were displaced, and some 232 villages destroyed. According to one independent source, between 2004 and 2006, some 470,000 Mon, Karen, Shan and Karenni were internally displaced as a consequence of violence, military operations and human rights abuses. Others have been able to flee the country, and survive in extremely difficult conditions in formal or informal refugee camps in neighboring countries.”

Similar scenarios have been reported in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and in Vietnam, where the Montagnard are subject to state oppression and severe human rights violations, such as torture, arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killings and other ill treatment and the Khmer Krom are consistantly deprived of human rights, especially in the realm of citizenship, religious freedom, land rights and gender issues.  

In areas where progress has been made the Special Rapporteur is saddened over the fact that, when it comes to autonomy rights, accords are not being lived up to by, amongst others, Indonesia in the cases of Ache and West-Papua.

Click here for the full report

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/6session/reports.htm