Day 2 | 8 June

Small-scale Fisheries in Asia: Protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples 

14:00-15:30 ICT

Background

Nearly 2.5 billion people, or 40% of the world's population, live in coastal zones and rely on fisheries as a source of food and income, with around 90% of the people employed along capture fisheries value chains operating in small-scale fisheries. Small-scale fisheries play a crucial role in ensuring economic stability, food security, and poverty reduction, particularly in developing countries, and are closely linked to the cultures, identities, ways of life, and wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples who rely on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods. Despite their importance, small-scale fisheries often receive inadequate attention and support from governments and other stakeholders, resulting in insufficient protection for the human rights of small-scale fishers.  

Constituting a substantial portion of small-scale fishers in Asia, Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately exposed to human rights challenges from a broad range of business activities, not limited to the fisheries and aquaculture industries. These include coerced labor and human trafficking, insufficient access to marine and inland resources and markets, exclusion from decision-making processes, and a lack of recognition of their human rights, including the right to a healthy environment and customary rights. In addition, pollution and waste from surface vessels and deep-sea mining activities threaten marine species and may adversely impact fishing and seafood harvesting industries, placing the livelihoods and culture of Indigenous Peoples at risk. These challenges are further compounded by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices. 

While Indigenous Peoples are frequently referred to as ‘vulnerable’, they are not vulnerable per se. Rather, they find themselves in situations of vulnerability when their rights are violated. It is therefore imperative to prioritize the promotion of sustainable and equitable small-scale fisheries that effectively safeguard the human rights of Indigenous Peoples, in line with the principles outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) as well as relevant human rights and other norms and standards. It is increasingly recognised that Indigenous Peoples have the knowledge and ability to successfully conserve and manage biodiverse ecosystems more effectively than other actors and at a lower cost, especially when their human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. Their deep connection to their land, territories and resources has enabled them to build and pass down extremely accurate knowledge of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as develop sustainable resource management practices. It is therefore of paramount importance recognizing and promoting Indigenous Peoples' territorial rights, in which water ecosystems and the right to practice artisanal fisheries are included, and natural resources rights in connection with small-scale fisheries, and promoting decent work opportunities, which is critical for their livelihoods and sustainable socio-economic development. 

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as well as the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), it is an opportune moment to reflect on the state of human rights in the world and transform commitment into action. In this session, particular attention will be afforded to the unique challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples in the context of small-scale fisheries and how their human rights, including tenure rights, can be better protected. The discussion will also look at the challenges and opportunities facing small-scale fisheries in Asia, with a focus on the responsibilities of businesses, States, and other stakeholders to respect human rights and promote sustainable practices, as outlined by the UNGPs on Business and Human Rights as well as relevant human rights and other norms and standards, particularly the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 160 on Indigenous and Tribal People. Amongst other things, the importance of environmental and socio-cultural impact assessments, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources shall be emphasized.    

Objectives

The session seeks to:

Identify human rights challenges faced by small-scale fishers, particularly Indigenous Peoples, in the context of business activities; 
Discuss the challenges faced by governments in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of small-scale fishers, including in the context of business activities, and potential legislative and policy options to address them; 
Examine the opportunities for responsible businesses to contribute to the recognition, protection, and promotion of small-scale fishers' rights – including marine resources, marine and inland territories and coastal lands - while ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and the protection of marine ecosystems; 
Share best practices and innovative solutions that businesses and other stakeholders can adopt to respect and promote the human rights of small-scale fishers, particularly Indigenous Peoples, in line with the UNGPs and other international frameworks; 
Share recommendations for future action and collaboration among stakeholders to address the human rights challenges faced by small-scale fishers in the context of business activities.

Questions

Panelists will reflect on the following questions:

How the unique human rights challenges faced by Indigenous small-scale fishers in their lands and territories due to business activities intersect with land rights, cultural preservation, and traditional knowledge.
What are the key elements that should be included in policies or legislation to protect the rights of Indigenous small-scale fishers, and how can these be effectively implemented and enforced. 
How can governments collaborate with indigenous communities to ensure that their rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled in the context of fishing-related business activities.
How can responsible businesses effectively engage with indigenous communities to ensure the recognition, protection, and promotion of their rights.
Support or capacity-building measures needed for Indigenous small-scale fishers to enhance their participation in decision-making processes, improve access to resources, and strengthen their ability to negotiate fair agreements with businesses.

Co-organisers  

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and One Ocean Hub.

Speakers

Katia Chirizzi

Ms. Katia Chirizzi is the Deputy Regional Representative of the UN OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia, which she joined in 2015. Prior to this, Ms. Chirizzi worked with OHCHR in several capacities, in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and in Geneva. Before joining OHCHR, Ms. Chirizzi worked with the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe in Kosovo, leading its Human Rights Division, and in Serbia.
Over more than two decades, Ms. Chirizzi focused her work on the protection and promotion of human rights both in conflict and post-conflict settings, including in the context of accountability, transitional justice, equality and non-discrimination, humanitarian action, land rights, business and human rights, climate change and environmental rights.

Tulika Bansal

Tulika Bansal is a human rights and business expert with 16+ years of experience in this field. She works as Senior Adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). During the past 12 years, she has provided expert advice and trainings on human- and children’s rights to leading multinational companies. She has led and carried out over 20 country-level human rights impact assessments (HRIA) and sector-wide impact assessments globally across sectors.
Since 2018 Tulika has been leading DIHR’s efforts on the seafood sector’s responsibility to respect human rights, through studies, impact assessment, development of tools, guidance and capacity building.Geographical areas of expertise include responsible business in Asia, in particular in Myanmar and India, as well LAC region. Before joining DIHR in 2011, she worked for grassroots NGOs and unions in Thailand, India and the Netherlands, focusing on labor rights and corporate accountability. Tulika holds an LLM in Public International Law from Leiden University, the Netherlands. She is a native Dutch speaker and fluent in English, Hindi and Spanish.

Victor Obanil

Victor Joseph Obanil is currently a Development Management Officer and the Business and Human Rights focal of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Center of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. Before working for the Commission, he was an Overseas Filipino Worker for 10 years based in Dubai and Singapore. His stint as an OFW allowed him to gain valuable skills and insight working in multi-cultural and diverse professional environments. Besides Business and Human Rights, his current interests and advocacies include the Rights of Artisanal Fisherfolks, the Right to Decent Work, and the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and gained a Special Academic Citation upon finishing his Postgraduate Degree in Research and Development Management from the University of the Philippines.

Johnson Jament

Johnson Jament hails from the Mukkuvar – seagoing fishing – community in South India. He holds a PhD from the University of Northampton, UK and is a coastal researcher at the University of Sussex Forecasting with fishers project in Kerala, India. He is actively engaged with the various activities of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. Recently he has initiated a coastal indigenous people’s organisation, Association of Artisanal Fishers, with the active seagoing fishers in Trivandrum. The organisation intends to protect the customary rights of indigenous coastal people and engage in activities to conserve and sustainably use marine resources together with the contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Earlier he was an advisor and Mentor of the youth led organisation, Coastal Students Cultural Forum, which aimed to improve educational opportunities for the coastal youths and to protect bicultural diversity of coastal people. He was also part of citizen science group organisation, Friends of Marine Life, which has documented seabed ecosystems in both East and West coasts of India. He has published academic journal articles and also worked with IPBES to produce biodiversity assessment reports for the Asia – Pacific Region. In a recent intervention, he has contributed to the UN water conference (April 22-25, 2023) at New York as a representative of AIPP’s collaborative efforts with various indigenous groups in Asia and abroad. He also represented his community in two UN ocean conferences in 2017 at New York and in 2022 at Lisbon.

Orawan Hantalay

Ms. Orawan Hantalay, a 37-year-old Mokan indigenous woman from Phang Nga province. For over 18 years, she has been a dedicated defender of Indigenous Peoples' rights and an active community activist. Her work focuses on addressing local and national issues that impact indigenous communities, such as fisheries, business, tourism, land rights, and statelessness.Ms. Hantalay serves as a committee member of the Chaolay Andaman Sea Network and is also a member of Indigenous Women of Thailand.

Frederic Wilson

Frederic Wilson is an Indigenous Dusun Putih from Sabah, Malaysia. He has worked for over 10 years with Indigenous Peoples in Malaysia, especially with his own community and at the Sabah State level. He spent 12 months working with the Assistant Minister for Law and Native Affairs of Sabah State. Frederic is currently serving Indigenous Peoples in Asia in the capacity of Human Rights Campaign and Policy Advocacy Programme Officer for Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) based in Thailand, since joining the organization in 2019. Frederic’s main focus is Indigenous Peoples’ human rights defenders and being the focal person in AIPP’s engagement with ASEAN mechanisms.

Monica Kristiani Ndoen

Monica is an indigenous rights defender from Rote, Indonesia. She completed her bachelor's degree from a law school in 2013 and joined the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), an Indigenous organization based in Indonesia.Since then, for over a decade, Monica has been dedicating her time to the advocacy of Indigenous Peoples’ rights throughout Indonesia. She is involved in teams established by various Ministries and Government Institutions such as the Team of National Inquiry on the violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights by NHRI, Team of Conflict Handling by Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Monica is also an Indigenous Fellow in 2017, and a Senior Indigenous Fellow in 2020, a fellowship program held by OHCHR for Indigenous Peoples.Throughout her time in AMAN, Monica has been in charge of several positions. Indigenous human rights protection, policy development, international advocacy, currently as special envoy to the Secretary-General of AMAN.

United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific