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ILC ASIA OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
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WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS TOOLKIT
In order to celebrate Rural Women's Day, which falls every year on the 15th of October, the International Land Coalition has launched the Women's Land Rights Toolkit.
The Toolkit has been tested by the ILC members from different regions, who found it interesting and effective in their efforts to promote, protect and strengthen women’s land rights. The uniqueness of this toolkit is its adaptability to different contexts and areas of work. Find out more here.
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The Road to 2018 Global Land Forum is Opened!
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The road to the 2018 ILC Global Land Forum is now being paved. ILC Asia Host, Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, (KPA), represented by its Secretary General, Mr. Iwan Nurdin (period 2013-2016) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Presidential Office Chairman, Mr. Teten Masduki. This MOU aims to bind the commitment of the Indonesian government to support the 2018 Global Land Forum. The signing took place during the Symposium of KPA’s 7th National Assembly in Sulawesi, Indonesia on November 9th, 2016. Preparatory meetings were also previously held in June, between ILC Director Mr. Mike Taylor and the Presidential Office Special Staff, Mr. Noer Fauzi Rachman, government officials, as well as donors and KPA’s members. Click here to find out more on the event's preparatory steps.
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Asia Business and Human Rights Meeting
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ILC Asia, supported by Oxfam in Indonesia, held a meeting on Business and Human Rights in Makassar city, Sulawesi, Indonesia on November 8th, 2016.
Human Rights Commissioners from the Philippines and Malaysia, Atty. Jesus Torres, and Atty. Paremeswari Subramanian took part in the meeting and it was also attended by Indonesian Human Rights Commissioner, Mr. Nur Kholis. The agenda of the meeting, which was moderated by ILC Asia Coordinator, Mr. Erpan Faryadi, included discussions on the development of Business and Human Rights National Action Plans from each country. Be sure to click this link to read more.
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Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA) - ILC Asia Host
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KPA Convenes the Symposium and 7th National Assembly in Restating the True Agrarian Reform
ILC Asia host in Indonesia, Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA) convened its symposium and 7th national assembly (MUNAS) in Makassar City, Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The national assembly's theme was: “To Restate the Truth on Agrarian Reform” and the symposium's theme was: “Strengthening Organization and Action for Community Initiative-Based Agrarian Reform”. Kicked off by the symposium, the event was held over a three day period and was attended by government officials, CSOs representatives, KPA’s NGO members and networks, as well as more than 200 peasants across the country.
It was also an opportunity for KPA to elect their National Council Board and the Secretary General for the next three years, as described below:
Secretary General: Ms. Dewi Kartika
Chair of the National Council Board: Mr. Iwan Nurdin
Members of the National Council Board:
- Mr. Fubertus Ipur
- Mr. Kisran Makati
- Mr. Sofyan Ubaidi Anom
- Mr. Harun Noeh
Ms. Dewi Kartika is the first woman elected to lead the organization since it was established in 1994. She previously stood as the Deputy Secretary General for three periods and has managed to show that a woman is able to lead a movement which fight for the rights of the peasants, fisherman, and indigenous people.
Find the complete story on our website. |
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Road to Damara (Agrarian Reform Advanced Village) Realizing that the agrarian reform movement is more than a simple matter of land struggles (power system), Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA) has created an Agrarian Reform Advanced Village (DAMARA). It consists of processes of area management (governance), production management (production system), and distribution management (distribution system). The building of a DAMARA is not an instant and rapid process. It requires community preparation, especially by youth. They are expected to be adept in rural development. KPA has initiated the long journey by conducting DAMARA education at Cijapun agroecology plantation in Cihaur village, Simpenan subdistrict and Sukabumi district, West Java. This was carried out from September 19 to 23, 2016, and was attended by members of peasant unions (KPA members). The activity focuses on enhancing understanding, knowledge and technical skills of rural youth in production management and ecological farming within the framework of agrarian reform. At the same time, it aims to disseminate basic knowledge on DAMARA and to generate collective knowledge through simulation activities.
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Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) - ILC Asia Member from Thailand
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The 7th Asia Indigenous People's General Assembly
Convened on September 27th-29th in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the General Assembly's theme was "Strengthening Solidarity to Advance Indigenous Peoples’ Rights”
The event was attended by 135 delegates, representing 45 out of 48 AIPP member organizations, outgoing Executive Council members, Foundation Board members, the Secretariat, observers and AIPP donors and partners.
Held every four years, the GA was an opportunity for adopting various AIPP policies as well as passing amendments to the Gender Policy, the Ethical Fundraising Policy as well as the Anti-Corruption Policy.
Among the key points highlighted here were the adoption of the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan of AIPP and the election of a new set of Executive Council members who will assume office on January 1, 2017.
The new sets of leaders nominated are detailed here as follows: Executive Council Chairperson: Kittisak Ratanakrajangsri; Secretary General: Mr. Gam Shimray; Indigenous Women Representative: Elina Horo and Indigenous Youth Representative: Mai Thin Yu Mon. In addition, the Subregional Representative members for 2017-2020 are as follows: Binota Moy Dhamai (Bangladesh), Suni Lama (Nepal), Lalremuata Chhakchhuak (India), Ei Ei Min (Myanmar), Pheap Sochea (Cambodia), Jill Carino (Philippines), Hilda Pius (Malaysia), and Shisei Toma (Japan).
Another key activity was the approval of four candidate members as full-fledged members and one candidate member totaling the number of AIPP members to 48 members in 14 countries. One of these new members is an association of indigenous persons with disabilities, based in Nepal.
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“Leave No One Behind – SDGs and Indigenous Peoples”
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Related to the AIPP 7th General Assembly above, AIPP, in partnership with Digital Mixes, produced and launched an animation video titled “Leave No One Behind – SDGs and Indigenous Peoples”. The video aims to introduce an indigenous perspective to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The video also contains some of the demands of indigenous peoples across the world in order to make the 2030 agenda slogan “Leave No One Behind” a reality, addressing how IPs can contribute to ensuring that the Goals are achieved without Indigenous Peoples being left behind.
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Rimbawan Muda Indonesia (RMI) - ILC Asia member from Indonesia
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Opportunity for Youth To Know Further About Agrarian Issues through Female Food Hero Video Making Competition
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ILC member Rimbawan Muda Indonesia (RMI), based in Indonesia, has recently encouraged the acknowledgement of women food producers, most particularly with regards to food production for their families and communities, by holding a video-making competition. RMI is attempting to introduce food and gender issue to the youth (aged 16-30), by engaging them to participate in this competition.
This competition aims to raise the awareness of youth in particular, as well as governments, on the important role held by women in providing and producing food for their families and the communities. The idea emerged from statistics which shows that Southern East Asia's women spend 50-90% of their time in paddy fields to process the rice. Despite this, they are acknowledged merely as farmer's helper or housewives.
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One of the video makers expressed her concern, when she recorded a pregnant woman fighting for her land from an army who also claimed rights her paddy field. She was surprised that such incident occurred so close to where she lived. This has shown how agrarian issues are distant from youths' awareness, even from those living in rural areas.
The committee of the competition received 34 videos from participants who nominated inspiring and great women who produces food for their communities. The nominated females are credited as Female Food Heroes 2016 title.
Collaborating with OXFAM Indonesia, this competition is one of RMI's strategies for creating the regeneration of farmer and agrarian movements, emanating from all levels of society, including urban youth.
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Asia National Engagement Strategies (NES)
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NES Philippines: Promoting People Centered Land Governance
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ILC Philippines member ANGOC (Asian NGO Coalition), is leading the country's NES development process by collaborating with several organisations in the Philippines, including: AR Now, PAFID, PAKISAMA, Task Force Mapalad, Xavier Science Foundation, and Association Farmer Alliance, in order to build up the NES Philippines.
A NES Communications Workshop (focusing on investigative news gathering and writing) was held from 8-9 November for NES members and organizations. The 2016 CSO Land Monitoring Report will be presented on 11 November of this year.
The initiative has reached several achievements and has created positive progress at the country level, including:
(1) Conducted the AR Conference discussing the agenda on agrarian reform for the new administration
(2) Dialogues with the Government regarding the lobbying of the three Bills - NOC Extension Bill, ICCA, Bill, and NLUA Bill.
(3) The NLUA Bill has recently passed the committee level in the Lower House this 11 October; while the ICCA Bill was set for public hearing in the House this 25th of October. I am still to ask updates from PAFID regarding this.
(4) The Members are also reviewing the existing Executive Orders (EOs) and Administrative Orders (AOs) in relation to NOC issuance and land acquisition and distribution.
Read more about the next achievements, summarized here on the ILC Asia website.
The Philippines had also launched its own NES website where you are able to keep track of their updates and progress on NES.
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NES Cambodia - Participatory Work on Land Dispute Resolution
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Collaborating with other ILC Asia members from Cambodia such as NGOF and FNN, Star Kampuchea, also from Cambodia, is leading the NES process in the country, by having collective voice of advocacy activities. A series of activities such as legal support, capacity building to target communities on community management, and documenting of successful cases, are being conducted. Legal support to affected communities in courts, and the facilitation of alternative dispute resolutions are also taking place.
Click this link to learn more.
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NES Bangladesh: Coordination Effort in Bangladesh Leads Stronger National Land Platforms and Joint Strategies
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Bangladesh is now entering the fourth quarter of the second year of its NES. During this period, several activities were convened. ALRD (Association Land Reform Development) as the leading ILC member organization, collaborated with other organizations working on the same issues. ILC Bangladesh members also participated: ARBAN (Association for Realization of Basic Needs), Kapaeeng Foundation, and CDA (Community Development Association).
In the above-mentioned activities, essential decisions were generated from productive and constructive dialogues. Read more here.
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