Indigenous Peoples, Right to Land, Right to a Voice 09 Aug 12
Indigenous peoples are universally known as the custodians of
rich oral traditions that are often based on a harmony with
nature and a respect for the land that repeatedly throughout
history has been taken from them. A recent human rights report
by the Associazione per i Popoli Minacciati (Association for
Threatened Peoples), for example, documents 12 case studies of
governments in Africa, Asia, Central and South America that are
granting indigenous peoples’ land to agricultural multinationals
or investment funds. The situation is particularly dramatic in
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia. On Mindanao
Island in southern Philippines, theft of the land affects 4.5
million people. In Indonesia, more and more of the 40 million
indigenous people are becoming victims of the expansion of palm
oil production, and it is estimated that by 2020 another 7
million hectare of land will be transformed into plantations.
How to give a voice to these