A/HRC/45/34/Add.3 B. Lands, territories and resources 12. The right to self-determination is intrinsically linked to the right to land, territories and resources, upon which indigenous peoples depend for their livelihoods, culture and spiritual and religious traditions. Communal land use is core to the collective identity of indigenous peoples and to their sense of responsibility towards future generations. 12 Traditionally, indigenous peoples have relied on their own customary laws and communitybased practices for regulating access to and the use and management of land and resources. Such practices have enabled the sustainable use of and equitable access to land and resources, thereby providing livelihoods and food security for indigenous communities, whether subsistence farmers, fisherfolk or hunter-gatherers.13 13. Indigenous customary land practices are being threatened and undermined by intensified pressure from State policies that favour the private sector and the escalation of large-scale projects for the extractive industries, hydropower dams, agribusiness and tourism. Without autonomy over their lands, indigenous peoples continue to be marginalized in decision-making, fail to be consulted and remain vulnerable to dispossession and displacement as private investors take control over their territories. In some instances, indigenous peoples have been tricked into selling their lands. Indigenous human rights and environmental defenders who oppose the expansion of private land ownership are being increasingly threatened, criminalized and accused of belonging to left-wing guerrilla groups, especially in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.14 14. Only a limited number of States in Asia have adopted legal provisions that recognize indigenous lands, territories and resources and traditional tenure systems. Even where legal provisions exist, their implementation tends to be hampered by complex administrative procedures, uncoordinated and understaffed authorities, corruption and contradictory sectorial legislation on land use, such as conflicting provisions on forestry and mining. 15. The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 in the Philippines, one of the most advanced pieces of legislation in the region, recognizes indigenous peoples’ collective ownership and titling of their ancestral territories. It is one of the few laws globally that requires the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples. The Philippines’ National Commission on Indigenous Peoples is responsible for delineating and issuing land titles to indigenous communities. While indigenous communities hold title to over 14 per cent of the total land area of the Philippines,15 there are serious concerns over delays in the titling process of hundreds of pending claims and over the manipulation of free, prior and informed consent processes resulting in the authorization of numerous projects, in particular mining and dam-construction projects, in indigenous territories. 16. In India, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 formally provides for the determination of collective land and resource rights by village councils (Gram Sabha) in specific areas (known as fifth schedule areas). It is the only law in Asia to give indigenous communities such rights at the local village level. In practice, however, the major displacement of Adivasis continues across India.16 During her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has raised concerns over several situations occurring in the context of logging, mining and hydroelectric projects and conservation measures on indigenous lands in the States of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Manipur, Odisha and Gujarat.17 17. In Cambodia, specific provisions have been adopted on indigenous peoples’ rights over lands and natural resources. The Land Law of 2001 recognizes indigenous peoples’ collective ownership over the lands on which they have established their residence and where they carry out traditional cultivation activities. Subsequent decrees and regulations have set 12 13 14 15 16 17 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, arts. 25–29 and 32. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Status of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands, Territories and Resources in Asia, p. 13. A/HRC/39/17. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Status of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands, Territories and Resources in Asia, p. 15. A/71/229, para. 57. See communications IND 1/2018, IND 9/2017, IND 8/2017 and IND 4/2015. All communications of special procedure mandate holders can be found at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TmSearch/Results. 5