By: Bestang Dekdeken, Land is Life Asia Coordinator
Asia is home to an estimated 260 to 411 million Indigenous Peoples, around two-thirds of the global Indigenous population. These Peoples represent over 2,000 distinct civilizations and languages and inhabit diverse ecosystems, including mountains, plateaus, coastal areas, deserts, and rainforests. Their ways of life are deeply rooted in unique relationships with their ancestral lands and territories.
However, the concept of “Indigenous Peoples” remains contentious across much of Asia. Many governments reject the term and instead use alternative classifications such as “hill tribes,” “ethnic minorities,” “minority nationalities,” “scheduled tribes,” “Adivasi,” or Masyarakat Hukum Adat. These terminologies often strip Indigenous Peoples of their distinct identity and deny them the specific rights recognized under international law.
Although nearly all Asian countries, except Bangladesh, voted in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, few have implemented it. Most States have yet to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples or fulfill their obligations under the declaration. Even in countries with legal frameworks, such as the Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, Indigenous Peoples continue to face systemic human rights violations, land dispossession, discrimination, and denial of self-determination.
The modern Indigenous Peoples’ movement in Asia began to take shape in the early 1980s. In the Philippines, they mobilized effectively against Martial Law and a World Bank-funded dam in the Cordillera region. In Malaysia, protests against deforestation in the late 1980s spurred the growth of Indigenous Peoples’ resistance. Similar movements later emerged across the region in response to neo-colonialism, authoritarianism, extractive industries, and the erosion of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights.
In 1992, the formation of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) marked a key milestone, providing a regional platform to strengthen unity, solidarity, and advocacy among Indigenous Peoples’ movements. Other regional networks followed, including the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network, Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Network on Extractive Industries and Energy, Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders Network, and Land is Life. These alliances support community-led efforts to defend land, territories, and the right to self-determination.
Asian Indigenous leaders have also played a vital role at the international level. They were instrumental in shaping global advocacy spaces such as the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Their sustained engagement contributed significantly to the drafting and eventual adoption of UNDRIP in 2007.
Today, the Indigenous Peoples’ movement in Asia continues to grow, grounded in collective resistance, cultural survival, and solidarity. Despite progress, the struggle for genuine recognition, rights, and justice remains urgent, and far from over.
