The 14th Human Rights in Asia Conference - Indigenous Peoples: Contemporary Challenges and Victories

Please join us for The 14th Human Rights in Asia Conference

The 14th Human Rights in Asia Conference - Indigenous Peoples: Contemporary Challenges and Victories

The 14th Human Rights in Asia Conference is entitled Indigenous Peoples: Contemporary Challenges and Victories and will focus on the collective rights of indigenous peoples in Asia. The conference will examine indigenous peoples' collective rights in the Asia region, with a particular focus on the victories they have won and the current challenges they face. It is crucial to learn about this topic from the perspective of indigenous peoples themselves, and therefore the conference aims to feature speakers who identify as indigenous. The conference will happen on two days: 12 and 19 March.

Speakers - Day 1

Mr. Phoolman Chaudhary (NEPAL) hails from the Tharu Community in Nepal and, for 10 years, he held the position of Theme Leader with the Nepal National Social Welfare Association. He has also worked with the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Senior Program Coordinator in Nepal. Currently, he serves as Executive President of Asian Indigenous International Network (AIIN) and Consultant Advisor of Unison for People’s Alliance (UPA) in Nepal, organizations that advocate for indigenous people’s rights and to build the capacity of indigenous peoples to address the challenges facing their respective

Ms. Mai Thin Yu Mon (MYANMAR) is the Program Director for the Indigenous Peoples Development Program of Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) in Myanmar. She has served as a member of the UN Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC) since 2016. She is also a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). From 2016 - to 2021, she represented youth to the Executive Council of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP). A Chin human rights activist, she advocates for indigenous peoples’ rights at the national, regional, and international levels. She is particularly active in engaging with indigenous youth and indigenous women at the grassroots level in Myanmar.

Mr. Gladson Dungdung (INDIA) is a human rights defender, researcher, and writer based in Ranchi, India. He is the General Secretary of the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement. He has undertaken fact-finding missions of hundreds of cases of police atrocities and human rights abuses. He has trained professionals on upholding and respecting human rights including police officers, lawyers, journalists, teachers, doctors, psychiatrists, elected representatives, and social activists. He has written extensively on issues such as displacement of indigenous peoples, forest rights of indigenous peoples, the impact of mining leases and land acquisition on the local populations, and actions of security forces in anti-Naxal operations. Gladson has advocated for the concept of Adivasism which he believes focuses on the balance of living with nature and being at peace with prosperity.

Speakers - Day 2

Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (PHILIPPINES) is an indigenous leader from the Kankana-ey Igorot people in the Cordillera Region in the Philippines. She has worked for over three decades on building movements among indigenous peoples and as an advocate for women's rights. She is also the founder and the executive director of Tebtebba Foundation. Her global influence includes being the indigenous and gender adviser of the Third World Network and a member of United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee, a Member of the World Future Council in September 2017 and the chairperson-rapporteur of the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. She was appointed by the Human Rights Council and served as the Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples from 2014 to 2020 and she was the former chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples from 2005 to 2010 where she is one of the key players in drafting and regarding the adoption the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

Ms. Joan Carling (PHILIPPINES) is an indigenous activist from the Cordillera, Philippines with more than 20 years of working on indigenous issues from the grassroots to the international level. Her expertise includes areas like human rights, sustainable development, the environment, and climate change. She was the General Secretary of the Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) From September 2008 to December 2016. Ms Carling was and expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2014-2016. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by UN Environment in September 2018. Ms. Carling was the co-convenor of the Indigenous Peoples’ Major Group for Sustainable Development-IPMG from March 2017 to December 2021. She is co-founder

Mr. Khalil Alamour (ISRAEL) is an active member of the Al-Sira Community Council and a member of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev (RCUV) and a secretariat member of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality. He is the Co-Director of Al Huqooq Legal Center.He has been working in cooperation with other local and international human rights organisations to raise awareness about the rights of the indegenous Bedouin community in Israel-Palestine, and to empower and strengthen the local community.