Source: The Guardian Briefing Paper on INTRODUCTION The Indigenous Peoples of Asia are Indigenous Peoples occupy lands rich Business and high up on the list of targets and in natural resources (waters, forests victims of human rights violations. and minerals) that are valuable for Killings, enforced disappearances, business operations. However, their Human Rights arbitrary arrest and detention, rights, including to their lands, intimidation, persecution and territories and resources and Free, 2020 violence against Indigenous Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), Peoples, Indigenous women and are very often not recognized and/or effectively implemented in business BHR SITUATION OF INDIGENOUS human rights defenders are PEOPLES IN ASIA increasing, even during this COVID- contexts. Laws, plans and activities 19 pandemic period. This trend of related to business and development Indigenous Peoples rights violations (narrowly understood as economic is expected to worsen as the growth) are mostly designed and implemented without meaningful An Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact government continues to centralize and consolidate its powers and participation of Indigenous Peoples, Report, November 2020 pursues its neoliberal economic particularly Indigenous women, even development program. when those laws and projects directly affect them. www.aippnet.org | 1 These result in profoundly negative human rights impacts, Secure governance systems coordinate voluntary including forced evictions/resettlements and loss of lands, isolation and community quarantines which are resources and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples. When capable of maintaining Indigenous Peoples safe. In indigenous communities fight back, they face extreme these incidents, the right to FPIC is key as a community reprisals and risks, such as harassments, attacks, in involuntary isolation, to protect their community disappearances, violence against women and killings of from a virus must have been seen as withholding Indigenous leaders and human rights defenders. Worse, consent by default until a safer date for a consultation lack of access to effective remedy or justice for the human can be agreed upon. Instead, we observe the rights abuses continues as a daunting challenge for the continuation of extractive activities and other business affected Indigenous communities. ventures which expose vulnerable, isolated, and otherwise autonomous communities to the virus. The This briefing paper prepared on the eve of the ninth annual mining sector has been highlighted as spreading the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights (BHR), was virus to remote Indigenous populations and areas of organized virtually, from 16 to 18 November 2020, takes the world, and many countries have deemed the into account the extraordinary circumstances relating to industry as essential allowing them to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on global travel nation-wide lockdowns. with the theme of preventing adverse impacts to build a sustainable future. This paper briefly discusses the Land-use change, ecosystem fragmentation, situation of Business and Human Rights of Indigenous deforestation, global trade, and high intensity livestock Peoples in Asia focusing on some countries i.e. Bangladesh, farming all contribute to the rise of zoonotic diseases, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and the their crossing into human hosts and their subsequent Philippines. As per an informal trend analysis of human proliferation across national and global populations. rights violations of Indigenous Peoples reported in the Through COVID-19 the consequences of IPHRDs Network of AIPP, business activities in the order environmental degradation, in seemingly “remote” of mining, agribusiness, energy projects, real estate, parts of the world, in the intact and healthy ecosystems tourism, etc. cause the most violations of land and resource traditionally managed by Indigenous Peoples, was rights and/or against indigenous human rights defenders. demonstrated to impact us all. The stark reality of our Environmental “conservation” undertakings such as interconnectedness with global environmental national parks and false climate change solutions, and processes and the implications of “business as usual” infrastructure development such as mega-dams are other has entered our homes, dismantled families and contributors for rights abuses. These activities are usually disrupted the global economic ecosystem. However, accompanied by militarization or heavy use of security under lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the forces to tackle opposition, which results in more virus deforestation has continued to rise, only to violations. exacerbate an existential issue facing us all. AIPP has been observing the situation and the trend of A “renewed emphasis on the need to prevent adverse human rights violations of IPs in Asia from March-October impacts on people and the planet resulting from 2020. In this paper, AIPP provides some of the trends on harmful business activities is urgently required.” the issue of business and human rights in Asia and is based However, in a recent publication co-authored by the on information compiled by AIPP i.e. both secondary Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), the Rights and sources and communication from the ground. Resource Initiative (RRI) and the Indonesia Tenure Coalition, government strategies that promote COVID 19 economic recovery at the detriment of the tenure and forest rights of Indigenous Peoples are being pushed Zoonotic diseases are a part of humanity and human through during COVID-19. The COVID-19 induced history. Sixty-one percent of all human diseases are recession has been used by governments to continue, zoonotic in origin and in the last decade alone this figure and even augment destructive and unsustainable has risen to seventy-five percent. While COVID-19’s industrial practices which risk undermining the next impact on the world is truly spectacular, epidemics and generation of environmental targets before they are pandemics alike have been commonplace. Indigenous even formalized by the Conference of Parties. Peoples have traditional practices to prevent the spread of virulent pathogens. www.aippnet.org | 2 While building back better and transformative change are Key developments in the Region admirable goals, the reality is that “more of the same” is prevailing with both governments and businesses Major changes in Law and Policy supporting these processes. In a world where “business as usual” is the cause and driver of the multiple biodiversity, In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo’s government has climate, COVID-19 and human rights crises we are used COVID-19 to push controversial legislative experiencing, AIPP has not observed clear attempts to processes that were widely criticized prior to the “build back better” in Asia. States who hold the “duty to pandemic. The most contentious of these, mentioned protect human rights abuses” and businesses with the previously, is the Workplace Creation Law, or the “responsibility to respect human rights” have Omnibus law, which passed on October 5th. The opportunistically used COVID-19 to sidestep Omnibus law has been strongly opposed by peasant, environmental and human rights responsibilities in favor of Indigenous Peoples, labor unions, student movements, economic growth. and environmental organizations. The Omnibus law deregulates mining, diminishes penalties for For example, in Indonesia, the recently passed OMNIBUS environmental violations, removes requirements for law will have drastic implications on environmental environmental impact assessments, creates favorable protections and the human rights of Indigenous Peoples conditions for corruption and excludes Indigenous and local communities across the country. Nonetheless, the Peoples and local communities from decision making World Bank has supported the law even through the clear processes altogether. involvement of business elites and systemic exclusion of civil society in formulating the law itself. This in part, can be Twelve politicians, instrumental in promoting the law, attributed to the failure of contemporary human rights have links to the mining sector. Since ratifying the bill frameworks to unite human rights with those of the several versions have circulated, each with important environment. This unity is evident for Indigenous Peoples differences, leading to a lack of clarity as to the final who live in tandem with an environment that encapsulated form the Omnibus law will take. In more than 1,000 the history, knowledge and sacred relationships which amendments in some 79 laws, the Omnibus law will support both human and non-human life within complex remove the right of the public to be consulted or interwoven socio-ecological systems. These socio- challenge projects and deregulate environmental ecological systems are stewarded by Indigenous Peoples, protections to favor foreign investment, both of which and the recognition and enforcement of their rights are will have severe impacts on deforestation across consequently a strategy for achieving the very Indonesia. In the two weeks since protests began, more transformative change needed to live in harmony with than 6,000 people have been arrested. While police nature as a global community. Forests are at the heart of a brutality has been reported widely, students are being “green recovery” from COVID-19, and protecting the rights criminalized and universities are threatening students of Indigenous Peoples