Asia Pacific


Starting Over

In the past few hours, different international media have reported about the end of the rescue works  after the terrible earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the central region of the Indonesian island of Celebes (also known as Sulawesi), on September 28th. The official death toll nears 2000. There are 10,000 injured people and around 5000 remain missing. After the…

Indigenous communities who attended the State of the Indigenous Peoples Address meeting organised by LRCKSK (photo by LRCKSK)

Stop the violence against Indigenous Peoples

Stop the violence against Indigenous People; Recognise and Protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples Every year, since 1995, August 09 is observed as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples where every person is “encouraged to spread the UN’s message on the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples.” [1] 23 years on, and states still need…

In Secret

The negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), involving 16 Asia-Pacific countries, are failing international standards of transparency and public participation, according to a study titled “RCEP: A secret deal” conducted by several international organizations. “It is quite shocking how representatives of the governments are able to hide behind secrecy, saying that it is necessary for effective negotiations” said…

Dignified resistance in Malaysia

Approximately 800 Orang Asli indigenous people are blockading since February 15, 2018 at several areas of the Gua Musang district, Kelantan State, Malaysia, in defence of the environment and their customary rights over land and to stop forest exploitation, mining and large-scale monoculture plantations. “We want to block any activity that would destroy the environment”, said the Chairperson of the…