RECOFTC FPP press release Nov10 2014
Regional statement takes stock of progress made and challenges remaining towards
binding human rights standards on the agribusiness sector
Editor’s Note: To download press materials, visit:
http://www.forestpeoples.org/news/2014/10/yangon-conference-human-rights-andagribusiness-2014-fpp-press-room (Username: presslogin; Password: yangon2014$)
Monday 10 November 2014, Yangon, Myanmar – On 4 – 6 November, National Human
Rights Commissions and civil society organisations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the
Philippines, Lao PDR and Myanmar, congregated in Yangon for the Fourth Regional
Conference on Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia, this year hosted by the
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, co-organised by Forest Peoples Programme
and RECOFTC – The Centre for People and Forests, and supported by the Rights and
Resources Initiative, Ford Foundation, the Climate and Land Use Alliance, and the
UK Department for International Development.
The conference assessed progress made since the Bali Declaration on Human Rights and
Agribusiness in Southeast Asia (2011) towards building regulatory capacity and standards in
Southeast Asia by promoting the application of binding international human rights standards
on the agribusiness sector, as embodied in the resulting Yangon Statement on Human Rights
and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia. Dr. Marcus Colchester, Senior Policy Advisor of Forest
Peoples Programme, stated
It is encouraging to learn of the progress being made by several NHRIs to develop National
Action Plans to implement the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights and that
efforts are already underway to develop new laws making it obligatory for business to respect
human rights. The National Inquiries into the rights of indigenous peoples, undertaken by the
National Human Rights Commissions in Malaysia and underway in Indonesia, show that
stronger laws are needed to protect indigenous peoples’ customary rights to lands and forests.
The recommendations of these Inquiries now need to be acted on.
Experiences were shared by participants regarding the various initiatives underway in the
region towards moving from policy to legal reforms that ensure that framework laws
accommodate tenurial and cultural diversity, and are in harmony with international human
rights principles. Cambodian delegates from the Community Legal Education Centre
(CLEC), NGO Forum Cambodia and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee
(CHRAC), noted jointly that
The government of Cambodia is a signatory to several international human rights instruments
and treaties, however the continued absence of an independent National Human Rights
Commission means the government also lacks this crucial mechanism to ensure that human
rights are duly protected and respected. The outcomes of the series of annual dialogues on
agribusiness and human rights that the Yangon conference is part of, clearly demonstrate that
if governments do not actively uphold the interests of their people, then transnational and
1
others businesses will take advantage of the situation, leading to social conflict and suffering
which the government must remedy.
The obstacles to the implementation of laws in practice were also analysed, as were
opportunities to promote coordination among National Human Rights Institutions in the
region to address human rights abuses associated with trans-boundary investments, labour
migration and human trafficking. A key issue raised was that of overcoming the asymmetry
of power in relations between companies and communities, and how this affects access to
information, building community capacity, providing legal support and making Free, Prior
and Informed Consent effective. The Commissioners noted the huge number of complaints
they have received in recent years, the great majority about land grabs, land conflicts and the
violation of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. Andiko of legal and
human rights NGO HuMA and ASM Law Offices in Indonesia, notes
Democratisation requires robust and accountable laws that are both rigorously implemented
and independently monitored. Complementing legal and policy reform at the national and
regional levels, community capacity-building and access to information remain essential to
ensuring grassroots transformation towards a rights-based approach to development. Respect
for rights is a win-win solution, not only because it protects communities, but also because it
gives those responsible and progressive companies who are striving towards best practice a
greater competitivity in international markets.
In searching for solutions to these challenges, the meeting focused on the need to strengthen
the capacities and mandates of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) including through
overcoming the legal, practical and structural barriers that impede respect for rights, measures
to implement international and regional law, the harmonization of laws (including customary
law) at different levels of government and improved adoption of NHRI recommendations by
governments. The Statement also called for strengthened regional cooperation between
Southeast Asian National Forums (SEANF) and the ASEAN InterGovernmental Commission
on Human Rights (AICHR), the setting up of an ASEAN Human Rights Court, and the
establishment of national level complaints and redress mechanisms. Dr Nirun
Pithakwatchara, Commissioner of the Thailand National Human Rights Commission, states
Particularly concerned and actively engaged on investigating trans-boundary corporate
human rights abuses, we call on the governments of ASEAN’s State Parties to make all
efforts towards guaranteeing that the rights of their peoples are secured through the
development of effective and appropriate safeguards, and sustained through constructive
multi-stakeholder dialogue, towards regional and local development which is genuinely
sustainable in the environmental and social senses, and which takes into due consideration
rights and particularities of ASEAN’s numerous indigenous peoples.
Looking forward, Rodziah Abdul, Secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
(SUHAKAM) states
In line with the aspiration for an ASEAN Community by 2015, which strives to create a
people-centred ASEAN, it is necessary to ensure that broad and meaningful consultation is at
the core of every policy-making process within member-states, including on human rights
issues. SUHAKAM is of the view that in anticipation of ASEAN Chairmanship in 2015,
Malaysia, which is highly regarded by its neighbours for its steady economic development
and growth, should also be seen as a leading nation in the realm of human rights promotion
and protection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
Notes for editors
The Yangon Statement on Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia is available
online at
http://www.recoftc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/news_and_features/Yangon%20S
tatement%20on%20Human%20Rights%20and%20Agribusiness%20in%20Southeast%20
Asia.pdf
The UK-based NGO Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and Thailand-Based partner NGO
RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests co-organised the Yangon Conference on
Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia on 4 - 6 November 2014 at the
Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar. A press conference was held on 6 November
at 13:00 – 14:00 at the Kandawgyi Palace Hotel.
The workshop brought together National Human Rights Commissions and Institutions,
academics, civil society organisations and United Nations representatives from Myanmar,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR to assess
progress made in ensuring that agribusiness expansion respects and protects the rights of
indigenous peoples and local communities, and to develop collaborative strategies to
move from a ‘business to business’ voluntary to one that imposes normative human rights
obligations on private sector operators and national governments.
Contact persons:
o Caroline Liou, Communication Manager, RECOFTC (Thailand), +66 (0)86 067
3228, caroline.liou@recoftc.org (English language)
o Zaw Win, Communication Officer, RECOFTC (Myanmar), +95 (0)9250263842
zaw.win@recoftc.org (Myanmar language)
o Sophie Chao, Project Officer, Forest Peoples Programme, +62 812 95165111,
sophie@forestpeoples.org (English language)
Workshop organising bodies:
o Forest Peoples Programme, 1c Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moretonin-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9NQ, UK; tel. +44 (0)1608652893;
www.forestpeoples.org
o RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests, P.O. Box 1111, Kasetsart Post
Office, Phahonyothin Rd, Bangkok 10903, Thailand; tel. +66 (0)29405700;
www.recoftc.org
o Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, 27 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar; tel. +12 (0)34 567 899 (from abroad),
01 34567899 (from Myanmar); http://www.mnhrc.org.mm/en/
With support from:
o The Rights and Resources Initiative: 1238 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite
300, Washington, DC 20007, USA. Tel: +1 202 4703900. Email:
info@rightsandresources.org
o The Climate and Land Use Alliance: 235 Montgomery Street, 13th Floor, San
Francisco, California 94104, USA. Tel: +1 (0)4154330566. Email:
info@climateandlandusealliance.org
o Ford Foundation: 320 East 43rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10017, USA. Tel: +1 (0)212
573 5000. Email: office-of-communications@fordfoundation.org
o The Department for International Development: 22 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG,
UK. Tel: 0300 200 3343 (from the UK), +44 (0)1355 84 3132 (from abroad). Email:
enquiry@dfid.gov.uk
3
binding human rights standards on the agribusiness sector
Editor’s Note: To download press materials, visit:
http://www.forestpeoples.org/news/2014/10/yangon-conference-human-rights-andagribusiness-2014-fpp-press-room (Username: presslogin; Password: yangon2014$)
Monday 10 November 2014, Yangon, Myanmar – On 4 – 6 November, National Human
Rights Commissions and civil society organisations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the
Philippines, Lao PDR and Myanmar, congregated in Yangon for the Fourth Regional
Conference on Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia, this year hosted by the
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, co-organised by Forest Peoples Programme
and RECOFTC – The Centre for People and Forests, and supported by the Rights and
Resources Initiative, Ford Foundation, the Climate and Land Use Alliance, and the
UK Department for International Development.
The conference assessed progress made since the Bali Declaration on Human Rights and
Agribusiness in Southeast Asia (2011) towards building regulatory capacity and standards in
Southeast Asia by promoting the application of binding international human rights standards
on the agribusiness sector, as embodied in the resulting Yangon Statement on Human Rights
and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia. Dr. Marcus Colchester, Senior Policy Advisor of Forest
Peoples Programme, stated
It is encouraging to learn of the progress being made by several NHRIs to develop National
Action Plans to implement the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights and that
efforts are already underway to develop new laws making it obligatory for business to respect
human rights. The National Inquiries into the rights of indigenous peoples, undertaken by the
National Human Rights Commissions in Malaysia and underway in Indonesia, show that
stronger laws are needed to protect indigenous peoples’ customary rights to lands and forests.
The recommendations of these Inquiries now need to be acted on.
Experiences were shared by participants regarding the various initiatives underway in the
region towards moving from policy to legal reforms that ensure that framework laws
accommodate tenurial and cultural diversity, and are in harmony with international human
rights principles. Cambodian delegates from the Community Legal Education Centre
(CLEC), NGO Forum Cambodia and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee
(CHRAC), noted jointly that
The government of Cambodia is a signatory to several international human rights instruments
and treaties, however the continued absence of an independent National Human Rights
Commission means the government also lacks this crucial mechanism to ensure that human
rights are duly protected and respected. The outcomes of the series of annual dialogues on
agribusiness and human rights that the Yangon conference is part of, clearly demonstrate that
if governments do not actively uphold the interests of their people, then transnational and
1
others businesses will take advantage of the situation, leading to social conflict and suffering
which the government must remedy.
The obstacles to the implementation of laws in practice were also analysed, as were
opportunities to promote coordination among National Human Rights Institutions in the
region to address human rights abuses associated with trans-boundary investments, labour
migration and human trafficking. A key issue raised was that of overcoming the asymmetry
of power in relations between companies and communities, and how this affects access to
information, building community capacity, providing legal support and making Free, Prior
and Informed Consent effective. The Commissioners noted the huge number of complaints
they have received in recent years, the great majority about land grabs, land conflicts and the
violation of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. Andiko of legal and
human rights NGO HuMA and ASM Law Offices in Indonesia, notes
Democratisation requires robust and accountable laws that are both rigorously implemented
and independently monitored. Complementing legal and policy reform at the national and
regional levels, community capacity-building and access to information remain essential to
ensuring grassroots transformation towards a rights-based approach to development. Respect
for rights is a win-win solution, not only because it protects communities, but also because it
gives those responsible and progressive companies who are striving towards best practice a
greater competitivity in international markets.
In searching for solutions to these challenges, the meeting focused on the need to strengthen
the capacities and mandates of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) including through
overcoming the legal, practical and structural barriers that impede respect for rights, measures
to implement international and regional law, the harmonization of laws (including customary
law) at different levels of government and improved adoption of NHRI recommendations by
governments. The Statement also called for strengthened regional cooperation between
Southeast Asian National Forums (SEANF) and the ASEAN InterGovernmental Commission
on Human Rights (AICHR), the setting up of an ASEAN Human Rights Court, and the
establishment of national level complaints and redress mechanisms. Dr Nirun
Pithakwatchara, Commissioner of the Thailand National Human Rights Commission, states
Particularly concerned and actively engaged on investigating trans-boundary corporate
human rights abuses, we call on the governments of ASEAN’s State Parties to make all
efforts towards guaranteeing that the rights of their peoples are secured through the
development of effective and appropriate safeguards, and sustained through constructive
multi-stakeholder dialogue, towards regional and local development which is genuinely
sustainable in the environmental and social senses, and which takes into due consideration
rights and particularities of ASEAN’s numerous indigenous peoples.
Looking forward, Rodziah Abdul, Secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
(SUHAKAM) states
In line with the aspiration for an ASEAN Community by 2015, which strives to create a
people-centred ASEAN, it is necessary to ensure that broad and meaningful consultation is at
the core of every policy-making process within member-states, including on human rights
issues. SUHAKAM is of the view that in anticipation of ASEAN Chairmanship in 2015,
Malaysia, which is highly regarded by its neighbours for its steady economic development
and growth, should also be seen as a leading nation in the realm of human rights promotion
and protection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
Notes for editors
The Yangon Statement on Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia is available
online at
http://www.recoftc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/news_and_features/Yangon%20S
tatement%20on%20Human%20Rights%20and%20Agribusiness%20in%20Southeast%20
Asia.pdf
The UK-based NGO Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and Thailand-Based partner NGO
RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests co-organised the Yangon Conference on
Human Rights and Agribusiness in Southeast Asia on 4 - 6 November 2014 at the
Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar. A press conference was held on 6 November
at 13:00 – 14:00 at the Kandawgyi Palace Hotel.
The workshop brought together National Human Rights Commissions and Institutions,
academics, civil society organisations and United Nations representatives from Myanmar,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR to assess
progress made in ensuring that agribusiness expansion respects and protects the rights of
indigenous peoples and local communities, and to develop collaborative strategies to
move from a ‘business to business’ voluntary to one that imposes normative human rights
obligations on private sector operators and national governments.
Contact persons:
o Caroline Liou, Communication Manager, RECOFTC (Thailand), +66 (0)86 067
3228, caroline.liou@recoftc.org (English language)
o Zaw Win, Communication Officer, RECOFTC (Myanmar), +95 (0)9250263842
zaw.win@recoftc.org (Myanmar language)
o Sophie Chao, Project Officer, Forest Peoples Programme, +62 812 95165111,
sophie@forestpeoples.org (English language)
Workshop organising bodies:
o Forest Peoples Programme, 1c Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moretonin-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9NQ, UK; tel. +44 (0)1608652893;
www.forestpeoples.org
o RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests, P.O. Box 1111, Kasetsart Post
Office, Phahonyothin Rd, Bangkok 10903, Thailand; tel. +66 (0)29405700;
www.recoftc.org
o Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, 27 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar; tel. +12 (0)34 567 899 (from abroad),
01 34567899 (from Myanmar); http://www.mnhrc.org.mm/en/
With support from:
o The Rights and Resources Initiative: 1238 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite
300, Washington, DC 20007, USA. Tel: +1 202 4703900. Email:
info@rightsandresources.org
o The Climate and Land Use Alliance: 235 Montgomery Street, 13th Floor, San
Francisco, California 94104, USA. Tel: +1 (0)4154330566. Email:
info@climateandlandusealliance.org
o Ford Foundation: 320 East 43rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10017, USA. Tel: +1 (0)212
573 5000. Email: office-of-communications@fordfoundation.org
o The Department for International Development: 22 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG,
UK. Tel: 0300 200 3343 (from the UK), +44 (0)1355 84 3132 (from abroad). Email:
enquiry@dfid.gov.uk
3