Tag: Southeast Asia

We strongly condemn the killings last April 19 in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, Philippines, perpetrated by the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Reports from the ground point to yet another series of violations of international humanitarian law by state forces in communities already persisting through waves of various land and environmental issues.

Environmental defenders across Southeast Asia face threats, violence and legal hurdles in their fight for justice. Five share their struggles. Article originally published on Dialogue Earth.

As we step into 2025, we celebrate our collective efforts as a network together with fellow environmental defenders and express our gratitude. We are in solidarity with the different struggles across the region for environmental rights, continuing our creative, hopeful, and courageous defense of lands, waters, and life.

As we move past the mid-year mark, 2024 has proven to be a tough year for environmental human rights defenders across the Asia-Pacific. Despite these challenges, our collection action and commitment remain strong. In this edition, you’ll find the latest news, campaign achievements, engagements, and resources.

APNED condemns the unjust arrest and detention of six Cambodian environmental defenders from November 23 to 25. The six environmental human rights defenders were investigating illegal logging in the pristine Veun Sai-Sem Pang National Park, in Stung Treng, northeastern Cambodia, when they were arrested by military.

Learn more about the ongoing process of the first-ever regional instrument on environmental rights in Southeast Asia through the first video of the #ASEANEnvironmentalRights series.

Sign on to support the adoption and development of the ASEAN People’s Declaration on Environmental Rights, as well as call on the AICHR to improve transparency and accountability in the process.

The Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED) successfully held three trainings on participatory action research and security in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2024. The trainings increased the capacity of Cambodian, Filipino, and Indonesian environmental defenders in conducting research on environmental and human rights issues as well as in ensuring their safety against physical and/or digital attacks while they conduct their work. 

APNED renews calls for strong and inclusive action to uphold environmental rights in Southeast Asia, particularly in the context of the ongoing development of the ASEAN environmental rights framework. We call on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and ASEAN Member States (AMS) to heed the demands of civil society embodied in the ASEAN People’s Declaration on Environmental Rights, to enhance protections for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs), indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups, and ensure inclusive and meaningful civil society representation and participation in the ongoing process.

Sign on to the joint statement from Indonesian civil society to demand the end to the criminalization and militarization suffered by the land and environmental defenders of Buol Regency in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.