Report on Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh in 2013

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Bangladesh often affirms its commitment to promote and protect human rights through its unequivocal pledge to uphold the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, international peace and security, respect for international law and rejection of colonialism and racism. However, different state agencies of Bangladesh have been directly engaged in interfering with the enjoyment of the human rights of indigenous peoples enshrined in the international laws for long, let alone the state authorities preventing violations of these rights by state agencies and other non-state actors. During the second cycle of review under the UPR mechanism on Bangladesh held at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 April 2013, for example, the government of Bangladesh provided incomplete and inaccurate information on implementation of the CHT Accord and constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples to the UPR session, which has proved non-compliance attitude of government’s commitment to the international human rights mechanisms.

NEPAL: Federalists on paper

Mar 21st 2012, 11:51 by T.B. | KATHMANDU

FOUR years ago Nepal elected a Constituent Assembly (CA) with a two-year mandate to write a new democratic constitution and draw a line under a decade of Maoist rebellion. After repeated delays and term extensions, undignified politicking and public derision, the process is at last running out of road. All the signs are that it will end in a nasty crash this summer.

The critical issue is the sort of federal autonomy demanded by historically marginalised ethnic groups. Their grievances helped fuel the insurgency and are now creating an increasingly stark polarisation between what are characterised as “the dominant group” and “the oppressed”. Familiar terms, these, but the battle-lines are new. Whereas the Maoists stressed class oppression, nowadays the talk is of ethnicity.

PHILIPPINES: IMPUNITY NO LET-UP | Another indigenous leader killed in San Fernando, Bukidnon, Philippines

Jimmy Liguyon, the vice chairperson of Kasilo, an organization of the Matigsalug-Manobo of Bukidnon, was shot dead in front of his home on Monday, March 5 by Aldy “Butsoy” Salusad, a leader of a paramilitary group in the province.

Liguyon is also the Barangay Captain of Dao, San Fernando, Bukidnon.  In October last year, he already received death threats from the group of Salusad.  Salusad is the son of Ben ‘Nonong’ Salusad, appointed head of the tribal arms of the San Fernando Matigsalug Tribal Datus (SANMATRIDA) which has a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title over 52,000 hectares in San Fernando, Bukidnon.  The SANMATRIDA Multi-purpose Cooperative, chaired by Herman P. Estrella, has been enticing mining investors into their domain since it was instituted in 2009.  The tribal datu of Barangay Dao under the SANMATRIDA is Aldy’s uncle, Datu ‘Manayab’ Carillo Salusad.

MYANMAR: Karen groups cautious on peace initiative

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Thousands of Karen have been displaced

BANGKOK, 5 March 2012 (IRIN) – Karen representatives and international groups have expressed caution over recent peace efforts in Myanmar, appealing to the international community, especially the European Union and the US, to maintain pressure on the Burmese government.

“We welcome the peace initiative between the Karen National Union [KNU] and the Burmese government,” Zoya Phan, chair of the European Karen Network and adviser to the Karen Community Association, told IRIN on 5 March in Bangkok. “But we remain cautious over the government’s commitment,” she said. 

PAPUA: World Council of Churches concerned about human rights violations in Papua

[Abridged in translation by TAPOLBintang Papua, 6 March 2011Photo at head of article: Rev. Dr Sae Nababan, President of the World Council of Churches

Jayapura: The World Council of Churches is very concerned about the violation of human rights  in Papua , said the Rev. Nababan in a discussion with Bintang Papua on Tuesday, 6 March. He said that the WCC was very concerned about the many injustices being suffered by the Papuan people.

The World Council of Churches  has registered its concerns and has informed the Indonesian government of this as well as churches around the world.

Philippines: Indigenous Peoples Solon Notes Rejection Of Mining At Local Level

“We’re seeing a wave of local ordinances declaring their corresponding jurisdictions as mining-free zones and asserting moratoriums on open pit mining, which can only mean that at the local level, people are rejecting mining.”

Thus remarked Cong. Teddy Brawner Baguilat (Lone District, Ifugao) at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Forum last Tuesday at Intramuros, Manila.

Baguilat observed that Davao City, Capiz, Zamboanga Sur, Romblon, Nueva Vizcaya, and a number of other local governments, are passing ordinances banning mining in their territories.

NEPAL: The final countdown in Nepal

March 6, 2012

PRASHANT JHA

Political parties have less than three months to resolve three issues — integration of Maoist combatants, form of government, federalism — that will shape state structure for years to come.

Five years after a peace accord marked the end of a decade long civil war, Nepal’s political transformation has entered its final phase.

On May 27, 2012, the term of the Constituent Assembly — extended four times beyond its original two-year term — will expire. And this time, politicians will not find it easy to give the CA another lease of life due to a judicial stricture. The Supreme Court (SC) has declared that the current extension is final, and if the constitution is not promulgated, there should be another election or referendum. There is also rising popular pressure to wrap up the prolonged transition, which has been accompanied by abysmal service delivery.

That gives the political forces less than three months to wrap up the peace process and write a constitution. Together, this will shape the nature of Nepal’s political institutions and security apparatus.

MYANMAR/Burma: Karen People Worldwide Call For Genuine Peace And A Federal Union Of Burma

Representatives from Karen organizations worldwide today call for genuine peace throughout Burma and for national reconciliation towards the establishment of a federal union. They also appealed to the international community, especially the European Union and the United States, to maintain pressure on the Burmese Government until there is tangible political change for the Karen and for all the people of Burma.

Today’s appeals were the result of a four-day conference organized by the Karen National Unity Committee from 27 February to 1 March in Kawtholei, Karen State. The conference was attended by 167 Karen participants, including community and religious leaders, as well as representatives from women, youth and other Karen ethnic organizations from inside Burma and around the world.

Philippines: Bangsamoro, Indigenous Peoples Of Mindanao To Re-Affirm Kinship Relations

Apipa P. Bagumbaran, 2012

A ritual to re-affirm the kinship between the Bangsamoro and the indigenous peoples (IPs) of Mindanao is slated to be held at the Talaandig Ancestral Territory in Sungko, Lantapan town, Bukidnon province on March 7 and 8.

The ceremony on the re-affirmation of kinship among the non-Islamized natives and the Bangsamoro of Mindanao is designed to help facilitate the peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

NEPAL: Anti-federalism will lead to confrontation

The way in which the states will be carved, the rights to be allocated to various levels of governance and groups, on the issue of state restructuring, have created heated debates among many sectors. After the State Restructuring Commission’s report failed to bring parties together on the issue, and rather intensify the polarisation, the debates—inside parliament and out—on federalism continue. As Chairman of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Raj Kumar Lekhi has been at the forefront of the debate, speaking on behalf of marginalised communities. Also the Chairman of Tharu Kalyankarini Sabha, Lekhi spoke with Bidushi Dhungel and Gyanu Adhikari about the demands of the marginalised on state-restructuring, the Tharu perspective and the parties’ inability to explain adequately the need for federalism to the people. Excerpts: