Indigenous Peoples in the World of Work in Asia and the Pacific
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Indigenous Peoples in the World of Work in Asia and the Pacific A Status Report Rishabh Kumar Dhir Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch Indigenous Peoples in the World of Work in Asia and the Pacific A Status Report Rishabh Kumar Dhir Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch International Labour Office • Geneva Copyright © International Labour Organization 2015 First published 2015 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. 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Dhir, Rishabh Kumar Indigenous peoples in the world of work in Asia and the Pacific: a status report / Rishabh Kumar Dhir ; International Labour Office – Geneva: ILO, 2015 ISBN: 978-92-2-129994-3 (print) ISBN: 978-92-2-129995-0 (web pdf) International Labour Office indigenous peoples / indigenous worker / workers’ rights / human rights / social policy / social exclusion / equal employment opportunity / case study / Australia / Bangladesh / Cambodia / India / Indonesia / Lao PDR / Malaysia / Nepal / New Zealand / Pakistan / Philippines / Sri Lanka / Thailand / Viet Nam 14.08 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. 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PRODOC endeavours to use paper sourced from forests managed in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Code: xxx-JMB-xxx Preface The World Bank has estimated that indigenous peoples constitute some 5 per cent of the world’s population, while accounting for 15 per cent of its poor. Even where economic growth has resulted in overall decreasing income inequality, indigenous and tribal peoples tend not to benefit from such progress; poverty among them is often increasing. This is also the case in Asia, where the majority of the world’s indigenous peoples live. Concerns for indigenous peoples’ rights and well-being are an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to tackle poverty and inequality by empowering groups experiencing socioeconomic vulnerability. Indeed, the 2030 Agenda forcefully calls for measures to ensure that no one is left behind. The ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the outcome document of the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples set out comprehensive guidance for transforming the new Sustainable Development Goals into effective national strate- gies, polices and action plans to bring about development that takes into account the rights, priorities and needs of indigenous peoples. In this context, it is now essential to increase the knowledge base on the working and living conditions of indigenous and tribal peoples, as a starting point for strengthen- ing and establishing appropriate legal and policy frameworks for rights-based and inclusive development. The present report compiles, systematizes and analyses infor- mation available from a range of sources on indigenous peoples in the world of work in 14 countries in Asia and the Pacific.1 It is intended as a tool for ILO constituents and development practitioners seeking initial information on these issues. The report was prepared by Rishabh Kumar Dhir and has benefitted from the contributions and guidance of Martin Oelz, Senior Specialist on Equality and Non-discrimination in the Gender, Equality, and Diversity Branch. We would also like to acknowledge the excel- lent editing work of Mary and Christopher English. The report shows that indigenous women and men are active participants in the world of work and that appropriate measures are needed to ensure protection of their rights to land, access to education, including vocational training, decent work and social protection. In order to achieve and monitor progress, it will be necessary to track the situation of indigenous peoples in the world of work over time, as far as possible on the basis of disaggregated statistical data, as called for by the 2030 Agenda. SHAUNA OLNEY Chief Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch International Labour Organization 1 A summary of the present report has been issued as an information brief, available at: http://www.ilo.org/gender/Infor- mationresources/Publications/WCMS_389366/lang--en/index.htm iii Table of contents Preface .......................................................... iii Abbreviations ..................................................... vii Introduction ...................................................... 1 Australia ...................................................... 11 Bangladesh .................................................... 21 Cambodia...................................................... 33 India ......................................................... 43 Indonesia ...................................................... 59 Lao People’s Democratic Republic................................... 67 Malaysia....................................................... 77 Nepal ......................................................... 85 New Zealand ................................................... 93 Pakistan....................................................... 103 Philippines..................................................... 113 Sri Lanka ...................................................... 125 Thailand....................................................... 133 Viet Nam ...................................................... 141 Concluding remarks ................................................ 151 Annex ........................................................... 157 v Abbreviations AIPP Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact AMAN Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (Indigenous People’s Alliance – Indonesia) BPDM Local-level Village Community Empowerment Agency (Indonesia) BPS Badan Pusat Statistik (Central Statistics Agency – Indonesia) CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh) COAC Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (Malaysia) DWCP Decent Work Country Programme ERT Equal Rights Trust FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Pakistan) IASG Inter-Agency Support Group IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILO International Labour Organization IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union IRIN Integrated Regional Information Network IWGIA International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (India) NEET “Not in employment, education or training” (New Zealand) NTSFDC National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (India) REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries RNIP Regional Network for Indigenous Peoples (Philippines) SDPI Sustainable Development Policy Institute (Pakistan) SUHAKAM Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) TRIFED Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (India) vii Indigenous Peoples in the World of Work in Asia and the Pacific: A Status Report UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund VUFO Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations viii Introduction I. Situating indigenous and tribal peoples in Asia “Emerging Asia” is a term frequently used to convey the economic success or the growth story of many Asian countries. Over the