•
The refusal by the Government to accept indigenous perspectives to NCR to
land as affirmed by Federal Court decision;
•
Slow processing of native land claims and gazetting of IP reserve lands;
•
Inadequate compensation;
•
Transactions on ownership of land that do not follow proper procedures;
•
Encroachment into and/or dispossession of native land through development
aggressions; and
•
NCR land gazetted into parks and other protected areas.
The violations against the IP’s land rights continue to affect not only their livelihood, but
also their cultural and traditional practices as well as identity. In addition, many
development projects have negative repercussions towards the ecosystem, affecting the
IP’s right to clean environment, which, according to Article 29 123 of UNDRIP, must be
respected.
Various development projects by the Government have negatively affected indigenous
communities especially their NCR to land. Among these projects are:
(a)
Bakun Dam, Sarawak.
The construction of the Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Asia, has forced
thousands of indigenous communities to be relocated. This is clearly inconsistent
with Article 10 124 of UNDRIP.
UNDRIP (n 48), Article 29:
29. Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the
productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement
assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without
discrimination. 2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of
hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free,
prior and informed consent.3.States shall also take effective measures to ensure, as needed, that
programmes for monitoring, maintaining and restoring the health of indigenous peoples, as developed
and implemented by the peoples affected by such materials, are duly implemented”.
124
UNDRIP (n 48), Article 10:
10. Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation
shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and
after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.
123
45