Intervention on the Workplan

Thanks to the Co-chairs and the members of the Fund Board for this opportunity to have this DIALOGUE with Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Organizations.  I am Grace Balawag of Tebtebba, the Indigenous Peoples International Centre for Policy Research and Education based in the Philippines, and representing the IPO constituency.  In this dialogue, we would  like to clarify that we are not representing only our respective constituencies but that we have coordinated among the various constituencies and we are covering different issues. So, specifically, I will be intervening on the Workplan:

• We believe that the Workplan is of crucial importance to take all the necessary steps and develop policies and modalities that should lead to a human rights-based and community-centered Loss and Damage Fund. 
• The workplan should prioritize urgent operationalization of the fund, direct access to resources for vulnerable countries, and community-centered approaches, with clear timelines and deliverables.
• We highlight the importance of modalities for public participation: There is a strong expectation that participation modalities will go well beyond established modalities for participation in other climate funds such as the need for a comprehensive approach to realizing meaningful participation and inclusion in all levels of the fund, from policy-making at the Board level to implementing and monitoring at the community level.
• We hope the Board will prioritize the setting up of a dedicated community access window that will realize simplification of direct access to small grants funding for affected communities, Indigenous Peoples, and those facing marginalization. Such a dedicated window will confirm the Fund’s intention and ambition to make priority support for those in the most vulnerable situations a central tenet of its funding mission.
• One crucial element is the development of a comprehensive Resource mobilization strategy reflecting the scale required (trillions not millions) and obligation of the developed countries to promptly deliver based on stringent timelines.
• We welcome the development of a dedicated framework for the best practice of environmental and social safeguards to avoid harm to communities and their environment, as well as the operationalization of an independent grievance redress mechanism. We ask the Board to be explicit about the intention to have dedicated mechanisms in place for the Fund. 
• In addition, the Fund also needs to develop proactive, dedicated policies such as an Indigenous Peoples policy, a gender policy and a youth policy, which are currently not mentioned in the Workplan. The same counts for putting in place a proactive information disclosure policy.
• Lastly, with regards to the potential operationalization of the Fund as a World Bank Financial Intermediary Fund, we highlight the need for accountability and disclosure, including through the involvement of observers and to the broader public, to secure the independence of the Fund and the full compliance with the 11 conditions set out in the COP/CMA.
• We are aware that the operationalization of all of these modalities in the context of the urgency to delivering funding is a daunting task for the Board. We would however caution against disbursing any funding before the modalities that will ensure the protection and fulfillment of the rights of those the Fund is meant to serve are in place. Civil society and Indigenous Peoples are here to support the development of any of these important modalities. 

Grace Balawag of Tebtebba Foundation and representative of the Indigenous Peoples Constituency addressed the board of the Loss and Damage Fund in the ongoing board meeting of the Loss and Damage Fund in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. Balawag  delivered the cross-constituency statement specifically on the Board's Work Plan during observers’ dialogue with the Board.

[Image caption: ADVOCATE Indigenous people’s rights advocate Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (center) is flanked (from left to right) by Inquirer president and CEO Rudyard Arbolado, Inquirer Group of Companies president and CEO Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, associate publisher Juliet Labog-Javellana and executive editor Volt Contreras as she receives on March 11 her plaque and recognition as one of the Inquirer’s Women of Power awardees for 2024. —EUGENE ARANETA] 

Just a few years ago, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Victoria “Vicky” Tauli Corpuz, had every reason to live in fear.

During the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, she was included in a list of 600 scholars, activists, and lawyers that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had wanted a Manila Regional Trial Court to describe as terrorists, along with the New People’s Army, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

At that time, Corpuz was serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, making the situation all the more alarming.

The Red-tagging stemmed from Corpuz’s condemnation of a 2017 large-scale military operation launched by Duterte to displace the “lumads,” the collective name for the indigenous group in Mindanao.

But the 71-year-old indigenous peoples (IP) rights advocate, who hails from Besao town in Mountain Province, did not waver in her mission to be the voice of the afflicted and the marginalized. 

Corpuz, a Kankanaey-Igorot, says the unfounded accusations hurled at her only fueled her determination to stand up for IPs who continually face threats while defending their lands.

For her, giving in to fear would have meant conceding defeat.

Supported by the global community, which stood by her during that challenging period, Corpuz confronted the allegations without hesitation.

On Sept. 21 last year, the DOJ’s petition was dismissed by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, who concluded that the government’s counterinsurgency measures “should include respect for the right to dissent, due process, and the rule of law.”

Corpuz is no stranger to being wrongly labeled for being an activist. During Martial Law under the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr., her name was included in an “order of battle” or a hit list of personalities considered enemies of the state.

Prominent figure

With Corpuz’s devotion to mobilizing indigenous peoples and advocating for women’s rights in the last three decades, she has become a prominent figure in the global campaign for the recognition of IP rights.

And coming from a family of human rights and environmental defenders, Corpuz says she and her family members have endured persistent harassment and baseless allegations.

However, her efforts as an indigenous environmental defender resulted in her being shortlisted for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2023.

She is also known for her pivotal role in helping lead the successful push for the UN General Assembly to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. The declaration is an international instrument deemed a major, universal human rights document that IPs often resort to when defending their rights.

According to the website of the UN Human Rights Office, Corpuz also founded and managed various nongovernment organizations involved in social awareness raising, climate change, and the advancement of indigenous peoples’ and women’s rights, and she is a member of the UN Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.

Currently, Corpuz serves as the executive director of IP research and advocacy group Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Center for Policy Research and Education), where she advocates for constructive dialogue.

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"Indigenous knowledge is very crucial in making solutions and managing the risks of climate change, biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

Shohel Hajong, program officer at the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), who served as a moderator of the Indigenous Navigator (IN) side event at the Indigenous Pavilion of the Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change during the Conference of Parties (COP) 28 of the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change held from December 1-12, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates highlighted the important role that indigenous peoples play in the key worldwide concerns.

Shohel opened the event by introducing the IN as a community monitoring framework by and for indigenous peoples where indigenous communities are very involved in the process of collection and comparison of community-generated data at local and the national level, making implementation gaps visible. Launched in 2014, the IN monitors the implementation of international instruments including but not limited to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), outcome of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), and relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At present, the IN is being implemented in more than 28 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Indigenous Navigator Country Implementation

Yun Mane of the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization (CIPO) shared the result of their community questionnaire that revealed that indigenous communities in their country suffer from the impacts of deforestation. Additionally, the communities suffer from investors of mining, dams, and socio-tourism projects granted by the government as they take timber to sell, destroy delicate soil, and clear the forests which cause an increase in weather unpredictability, extreme flooding and drought. This, then, is where IN comes in not just to monitor if the commitments of states are being implemented but also as evidence to advocate for the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights.

"This (Indigenous Navigator) is a very important document for us, indigenous peoples, as well as [for] the government because it is an evidence-based document [that] you can use to monitor our rights that have been stipulated in the UNDRIP and also in other conventions like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Mane stressed.

In Nepal, Manoj Rai of the Lawyers' Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) recommended that states should commit to climate funds, increase protected areas, and data disaggregation to record on-the-ground experiences of indigenous peoples. Additionally, Rai urged duty bearers to use the IN to fulfill the data gaps and add more resources to gather information from more areas, obtaining the real situation of indigenous communities. "[The] Indigenous Navigator is a powerful tool to use for advocacy," he concluded.

"This (Indigenous Navigator) is one of the projects that needs replication. Data collectors learn more about their rights and the situation of their own communities while speaking their own language," said Anne Samante of Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO) in Kenya. Samante highlighted that for the longest time that Indigenous rights have been violated, there is a lack of evidence and that the IN gave them the opportunity to not just have proof of violations but also to use the data for advocacy as well as open dialogues with the state and other stakeholders. Anne also mentioned that the IN under its Small Grants Program gave indigenous communities the freedom to choose the development project they wanted based on their specific needs and priorities.

"We say that knowledge is power. Knowledge becomes [a] more significant power if we find ways to utilize it [while] ensuring [that] our rights [are respected]," emphasized Chadra Tripura, an indigenous youth from Bangladesh. She highlighted the need to transfer the traditional knowledge to the next generations especially with regards to the contributions of indigenous peoples to solving global problems including climate change. As an indigenous youth, Tripura shared that as young people nowadays live in the technological era, they take the burden of protecting their traditional knowledge and adapting to modern knowledge. "They (states) must include indigenous youth in decision making in policies," Chandra strongly recommended.

Ketty Marcelo from Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú (ONAMIAP) also shared their experience in implementing the Indigenous Navigator in Latin America where displacements of indigenous peoples are happening due to development projects that also destroy the environment. Marcelo also shared that at first, they found the IN  tool hard to understand, but that gradually they learned to adopt it in relation to their own realities. Through the tool, they were able to collect data showing the violation of their rights as enshrined in the UNDRIP. Through the findings, Ketty shared that they were able to write a report  that provided information on the violations and situations they were experiencing which they then presented to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Additionally, Ketty highlighted the need to re-echo the data back to the community it came from so they can be aware of their rights, situations and priorities.

IN as monitoring and advocacy tool

Nicky Batang-ay from the Climate and Biodiversity Program of Tebtebba shared that along with the IN, they also implement the Community-Based Monitoring and Information Systems (CBMIS) - both are monitoring tools used by and for indigenous peoples. Since the implementation of these initiatives, Nicky revealed that they learned three fundamental points: One is the “timeless wisdom and modern approach” where he highlighted that since time immemorial, indigenous peoples have been monitoring their well-being as well as their surroundings including climate issues. "The good thing [about] IN [is that] it helps indigenous communities systematically organize the data that they have been gathering from the ground," he said. Second is the “dynamic role of indigenous data” not only for realization of indigenous rights but also for coming up with a comprehensive plan appropriate for their community. Third, empowering indigenous peoples through education where training on collecting data is stressed as well as the capacity to manage it.

"Indigenous Navigator is a tool for ground-truthing… The IN is a tool to bring indigenous specific data to the table of policy- and decision- making," said Kimaren Ole Riamit of the Indigenous Livelihood Enhancement Partners (ILEPA) as he gave the concluding remarks of the side event. Kimaren challenged partners, states, and civil society and organizations to connect across spaces and across networks to come together to deliver the aspiration of humanity for a better world and a better people tomorrow.

This side event was co-organized by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Tebtebba, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), and the Indigenous Navigator consortium funded by the European Union. ###