Land is life in Papua New Guinea. Handed down over generations from father to son, or mother to daughter. To own land is to have a lifeline, our bloodlines, our inheritance, our identity is dened, strengthened and made complete by it.For centuries the world over, blood, sweat and tears have been spilled, empires built and crumbled, heroes have risen and fell in itsdefense or acquisition, whether rightfully or not.

The Commission on Human Rights  highlighted issues faced by indigenous people as it observed the 23rd anniversary of the passage of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act and the National Indigenous Peoples Month this October.

Based on the experiences faced by CHR employees on the ground, most of the human rights violations perpetrated against indigenous peoples are land-related harassments, attacks, and killings.

The first of 10 Mondulkiri public officials implicated in illegal land grabbing in the province has been transferred from his position — a warning to others, according to a government spokesperson, but for local rights monitors a sign of continuing impunity over imprisonable crimes.

An inter-ministerial working group concluded an investigation into illegal encroachment of protected forests in Mondulkiri in late August, identifying 10 governmental officials allegedly involved in stealing state land.

More than 30 Cambodian-Muslim families protested the construction of a road running through Kampong Chhnang province’s Chhong Kos village on Wednesday after they noticed a portion of an ancestral graveyard alongside the road was damaged.

The Cambodian-Muslim community also noticed the road was being built at a higher elevation, another reason they protested the construction, said Mat Sary, an imam (religious leader) in the community located in Kampong Chhnang town’s Khsam commune.

Following talks on customary land being alienated from land owners, the Land Department is encouraging Customary Land Owners to have their land registered.

This is to ensure these lands are bankable, so that they can use them for further development.

Speaking to th emedia recently, the lands minister said there were policies in place for customary lands registered under the lands department.

He is calling on land owners with portions of land near towns and cities to consult the lands department, and have their land registered.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still expanding across the globe, ACT NOW is urging the PNG government to drop its plans to put customary land into the hands of commercial banks.

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated once again that customary land is a vital and irreplaceable resource for our families and communities.

It should be inconceivable that the government would put customary land at risk by allowing commercial banks to hold the title as security for financial loans.

YANGON—A Kachin lawmaker voiced concerns in the Upper House of Parliament about an Australian-backed company’s plan to conduct a feasibility study for a large-scale mining exploration project in an area of Myanmar’s northernmost township with snow-capped mountains and a largely untouched environment.

The preservation of indigenous peoples’ territories in Paraguay has a vital role in maintaining spiritual, cultural, and communal well­being. Despite this important reality, many indigenous communities’ bonds with their land have been shattered.

GBARNGA, BONG COUNTY – A conference on the formalization of customary land on Thursday opened in Gbarnga, Bong County for local and county officials of Lofa, Bong and Nimba. 

The Land Rights Act of 2018 recognizes customary land ownership but communities must first meet certain requirements the law mandates to have legal right to their land. As per the requirements, communities must first identify themselves as land bodies, create a community land governance structures, harmonize their boundaries with their neighbors, and then conduct a confirmatory survey.