Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE)

AIPNEE calls on the Thai Parliament to recognize Indigenous Peoples of Thailand and their rights in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Ethnic Way of Life bill. #IndigenousPeoplesRights - - - Parliament removes “indigenous” from Ethnic Way of Life bill The Thai parliament has voted during the second reading of the Ethnic Way of Life bill not to include indigenous peoples in its definition of ethnic groups despite calls for the bill to ensure the protection of indigenous cultures. Read full article ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dNSAGxq4

✊ Let’s raise our voices together for #justice and inclusivity. 📜 We urgently call upon individuals and organizations to stand in solidarity with the #IndigenousPeoples of Bangladesh. Please sign the open letter urging the government to take immediate action against this violence and ensure justice for the victims. 🔗 Submit your endorsement here: https://bit.ly/3Qcuj6l 🖋 Sign before January 29, 2025. #IndigenousRights #IndigenousPeoplesRights #HumanRights #Bangladesh #Solidarity

Join us for the Webinar on #JustEnergyTransition and #IndigenousPeoples in Asia on February 4, 2025 (10AM Nairobi/ 2PM Bangkok/ 3PM Manila) ✍️ Register now - https://lnkd.in/d2MPi-jj (Register until January 31, 2025) As the world accelerates the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy in response to climate change, this transition is seen as vital for sustainability. However, it often disregards indigenous communities, who face significant and increasing challenges to their lives, lands, forests, and waters. Across #Asia, renewable energy projects frequently perpetuate land dispossession and resource exploitation, drive attacks and killings of rightsholders, and exclude indigenous peoples from decision-making processes. 👉 Join this webinar to explore equity, justice, and actionable recommendations for just transition. 🌎 Featuring case studies and insights from indigenous communities across the Asia region. #IndigenousPeoples #HumanRights #LandRights #JustTransition

📣 Media Grants Opportunity! 📣 Earth Journalism Network Asia Pacific Media Grants 2025 Application Deadline: 30 January 2025, 11:59 PM (Pacific/Niue) Earth Journalism Network is seeking innovative project ideas from media outlets, journalism institutions, and other organizations that work directly with media or content creators in the Asia-Pacific region. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/dntv8BGr

📣 Story Grants Opportunity! 📣 Story Grants to Support Reporting on Climate and Environmental Solutions in Asia Pacific Application Deadline: 3 February 2025, 11:59 PM (Pacific/Niue) Earth Journalism Network is offering story grants to support the production of in-depth solutions-focused media reports on environmental and climate challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. We welcome stories on scalable and replicable solutions that build community resilience to climate change and environmental degradation. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/duWwsaMf

📍 In the province of #Apayao, the Isnag Indigenous Peoples are standing tall against the construction of 8 mega-dams that threaten their ancestral lands and ecosystems. Read the full story and support their journey: https://lnkd.in/gHEcW9Km 🌊 Their land. Their rights. Let’s amplify their voices!

Philippines || Abra Communities Stand Firm Against FCF’s Yamang Mineral Large-Scale Mining Project On January 17, 2025, representatives from municipalities affected by mining and dam projects in Abra attended the “Sumikad Abra” Peoples’ Forum, organized by the Ecumenical Disaster Response and Management Committee (EcuDreamC) in partnership with the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC). Read more: https://lnkd.in/dBXndP_j 📷 Cordillera Peoples Alliance

🚨 Violent Attack on Indigenous Students in Bangladesh 🚨 🇧🇩 A violent attack was carried out against Indigenous students and rights activists outside the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) in #Dhaka. The violence followed protests against the removal of an Indigenous-themed artwork from textbooks. At least 13 students and activists were injured, some severely, following a confrontation with a group opposed to Indigenous recognition. 📢 The artwork, depicting a tree with leaves labeled Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and #Indigenous, accompanied by the message “Leaf-tearing prohibited,” was removed following intense pressure. ✊ Indigenous groups are demanding #justice, the restoration of the artwork, and equal recognition in the national curriculum. Nationwide protests are expected to intensify in the coming days. 🙏 We condemn the violent attack on Indigenous students in Dhaka, demand justice for the victims, and stand in solidarity with #IndigenousPeoples in their fight for recognition and equality. #Bangladesh #IndigenousRights #HumanRights

Indigenous peoples are the guardians of the forests, waterbodies, and the environment. The recent #CaliforniaWildfires serve as a wake-up call to all. California’s wildfires aren’t just natural disasters—they’re the result of colonialism, capitalism, and the suppression of Indigenous Sciences and Traditional Knowledge. For generations, Indigenous Peoples have practiced controlled burns to steward the land, but these traditional methods were outlawed, prioritizing profit over balance. We can no longer continue business as usual. It’s time we prioritize Indigenous stewardship and return to the ways these lands have always been cared for. #DefendTheSacred

MUST READ: India: Arrest of Human Rights Defender Ebo Mili and Restrictions on His Human Rights Work (Joint Communication) Mr. Ebo Mili is a lawyer and human rights defender, convenor of the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF). The SIFF was established in 2013, with its membership comprised of small-scale farmers from the indigenous Adi people. Since its formation, the SIFF has been raising environmental and human rights concerns about the proposed construction of a 11,000 megawatts hydroelectric dam on the Siang River, as part of the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project, which has reportedly been pushed through on national security grounds without public consultation. To make way for the project, Adi indigenous peoples risk being displaced. The project is being constructed by NHPC Limited, of which the Indian State is the major shareholder. ALLEGATIONS On the morning of 8 July 2024, in advance of a visit by the Minister of Power to Arunachal Pradesh in connection with the development of the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project, Mr. Mili was arrested in Itanagar by Itanagar police. No warrant for his arrest was presented. He was initially taken to Itanagar police station, where he was not permitted access to a lawyer or to communicate with the outside world. He was then moved to Niti Vihar Police Station, after people concerned about his detention began to come to the Itanagar station. Only following his transfer to Niti Vihar Police Station, Mr. Mili was allowed to communicate with his lawyer. During his arrest, Mr. Mili was interrogated as to his work raising concerns about the human rights and environmental impact of hydropower projects in the Arunachal Pradesh, and about those he has been working with in this advocacy. The police also informed him that he had been under surveillance, with police stationed outside his apartment and tracking his movements via his mobile phone. The human rights defender was held for approximately 10 hours before being released. He was discharged after signing a bond obliging him to refrain from any activity that could be considered “breaching the peace” or “causing a breach of the peace” for a period of one year, or until an inquiry into police cases filed against him was closed. Failure to comply with the bond would result in a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees for any breach identified. Mr. Mili had previously been arrested under similar circumstances. On 12 August 2023, the lawyer and human rights defender was arrested while protesting against the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for 13 hydroelectric power projects during another visit by the Minister of Power to Arunachal Pradesh. He was interrogated before being released after approximately 8 hours. Also on that occasion, he had to sign a bond before being discharged, agreeing to refrain from activities that could be considered a breach of the peace for a period of one year or face a fine. Read full statement: https://lnkd.in/dDUAZhUe