Chapter 3 - Report of the Research and Policy Development Group
indigenous rights and issues; treaty settlement negotiations and settlement redress; natural
resources, Maori claims and settlement options; current regime and integration of Maori
land law with the New Zealand land transfer system; engagement between the state and the
Maori; post-settlement governance entities and Maori business structures; and New Zealand’s
international obligation and the Treaty of Waitangi.
The subsequent discussion covered:
(i)
The boundaries of native land as interpreted by Indigenous Peoples;
(ii)
The concept of indigenous ownership of land (i.e. no land title needed and the assumption
that they are owners of land inherited from ancestors);
(iii) Indigenous resettlement and relocation resulting from government and private projects;
and
(iv) The role of government agencies and private entities in relation to the Commission’s
recommendations pursuant to the National Inquiry.
(c) SEANF Project on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
SEANF, at its Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting held in Bangkok from 23-24 February,
agreed that members should develop a paper to introduce ‘Good Practices in Promoting
and Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ in their respective countries. It was further
agreed at a TWG Meeting in Jakarta on 20 August that the format of the paper prepared by the
Commission be adopted, and that the first draft of the report be submitted on 31 August.
The objective of the project is to enable the sharing of good practices among SEANF members
and the public as a whole. For the first draft of the report, the Commission conducted secondary
research to gather input based on the agreed format. The executive summary of the first draft
report was presented by the Chairman, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, at the Annual SEANF meeting
held in Chiangmai from 12-14 September. It was agreed that all the members should submit the
second draft on 20 December 2012 and the final draft by March 2013.
(d) RTD on the ‘Good Practices to Promote and Protect the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples’ in Malaysia
The Commission organised the RTD on 5 November, inviting government agencies, NGOs
and representatives of Indigenous Peoples to attend. The participants were from the JAKOA,
Ministry of Education (MOE), MOH, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, Department of
Museum, Bar Council, Sabah Rubber Industry Board (SRIB), Jaringan Orang Asli Se-Malaysia
(JOAS), UNDP in Malaysia, UN Children’s Fund and the Native Court of Sabah.
The objectives were to get feedback on the Commission’s draft paper on ‘Good Practices to
Promote and Protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ in Malaysia’; and to solicit input on other
good practices for the final report to SEANF.
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