The Law Association for Asia and The Pacific Annual Human Rights Conference 2023

Description

The Bleak Future of the Aboriginal Children in Light of Environmental Destruction

The aboriginal community in Malaysia is a minority community. They live in the forest as their livelihood depends on forest produce. However, as there is rapid development that is taking place, deforestation is affecting the livelihood of the aboriginal community. Regrettably, policymakers do not include the aboriginal community on the drawing board when planning developments even if it encroaches on the aboriginal community’s space. In some cases, aboriginal lands have been de-gazetted to give way to developments and there were no consultations with the aboriginal community. In some cases, aboriginal lands were never gazetted as aboriginal reserve land and hence deforestation can easily take place. Additionally, even if the land is gazetted as aboriginal land, it is at the discretion of the 13 states respectively which may not be uniform. Furthermore, the aboriginal community does not have land titles. Hence, they are the most vulnerable and marginalised community since the time Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957. Ironically, the aboriginal community faces this dilemma despite their special status as enshrined in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Observably, there is constantly a conflict between the mainstream agenda and the rights of the aboriginal community. The crux of the matter is what would the future of the aboriginal children be since they would be depending on the forest for their future livelihood. The aboriginal children will certainly have a bleak future. This paper attempt to address the plight of aboriginal children through the works done by NGOs, practitioners, and researchers.

Period	2 Sept 2023
Event type	Conference
Conference number	4th
Location	Fukuoka , JapanShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International