"Indigenous Rights Coalition in Burma Plans UPR Submission", 21 July 2015

A coalition of 24 indigenous rights organizations is planning to make a submission on the situation of indigenous communities in Burma when the country is reviewed at the 23rd session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group...in November. The group, called the Coalition of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar/Burma, has catalogued a raft of issues that indigenous peoples are facing in Burma, including lack of access to land and resources and the impact of destructive development projects on local livelihoods. “Burma’s 2008 Constitution makes no mention of indigenous peoples, their collective rights, or customary land use practices in indigenous peoples’ territories,” the coalition said...The coalition said the current draft national land use policy gives special privileges to business investors that could lead to more land grabs in the country and is vague regarding the land use rights of ethnic nationalities. The group called for amendments to the national land use policy and other legislation to ensure they accommodate “the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories, and natural resources, including customary land use practices with regard to forests, rivers, and other land, as well as agricultural land."