Indigenous Peoples and Corporate Accountability in the ASEAN

Due to the increasing and expanding operations of multinational corporations in indigenous peoples’ territories, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) conducted this study on the business practices of these corporations in indigenous peoples’ territories. The study focuses on the operations involving rubber, cassava and oil palm plantations, hydropower dams and mining in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The cases demonstrate the impacts of corporate activities in indigenous territories and the violations of indigenous peoples’ rights. These include displacement and dislocation from their lands and territories with minimal or no compensation and without any plans for benefit sharing; the non-compliance of corporations to the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a requirement for conducting activities in indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources; the non-recognition and loss of traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples living in the areas affected by the business operations; violations of their cultural rights especially the desecration and destruction of sacred sites; and exposure to hazards resultant to poisonous and dangerous materials used by the corporations. They also highlight the inability of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and of the workers who slave for corporations operating in the ancestral lands of these peoples.

Indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia live in areas rich in natural resources. These areas have become targets of resource extraction and development projects by multinational companies. Indigenous communities are confronted with the adverse impacts of mining, logging, large-scale plantations and infrastructure programs. These projects are generally implemented without the consultation and consent of affected communities. Massive displacement of indigenous peoples, the loss of their livelihood and the denigration on of their culture and identity are just some of the adverse effects of these projects.

This publication has been published with the support from IWGIA and others.