Prof Bas De Gaay Fortman, the Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy, highlighted these points in his presentation entitled "Land and Indigenous Peoples: Pursuing a Rights-Based Strategy" on the second day of the ISB Borneo Global Issues Conference VII held at the International Convention Centre.

Prof Fortman said the meaning of rights is a provision of protection for the rights-holders in respect of their claims and hence, rights can be

Prof Fortman, who is also a Dutch politician and scholar, said human rights are often violated especially the rights of the poor, including indigenous people.

This has led to the affirmation of a declaration on indigenous people's rights by the United Nations (UN), the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, he said.

However, not all countries which voted in favour of this declaration are committed to implementing the declaration in practice, he said.

Prof Fortman, who is currently the only chair in Political Economy of Human Rights at the University of Utrecht, said the problem lies with modern land ownership, which does not respect native customary laws, and the indigenous people's entitlement to their land is not recognised.

He noted the threat to indigenous land ownership in pursuit of "development", where in a few cases the indigenous people are forcibly removed from their land by the state and companies.

He also said the biggest threat to the indigenous people" is the state even though this is explicitly recognised in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. " (In the) Article 26: Indigenous Peoples have rights to their lands and States must recognise and protect their lands (And) Article 32: The State must consult indigenous peoples regarding any project affecting their lands," Prof Fortman said.

Prof Fortman said that rights-based strategies are important to be asserted for land rights.

This, he explained, could be implemented through the empowerment of the indigenous people by raising their awareness of their land rights.

He said the capacity building of the indigenous people needs to be improved in upgrading the community organisation, the building of consensus at community level and clear articulation demands.

Other guest speakers during the second day of the conference were Cynthia Ong, the Executive President of Land Empowerment, Animals and People, and Nathan Racing Horse, Lakota Medicine, Adrian Lasimbang, the President of JOAS.

Allen Lai, the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Inc Forum moderated yesterday's conference.

The conference was attended yesterday by delegates and ISB students, which included YAM Pengiran Anak `Aliiyah Amalul Bulqiah.  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin