"UNPO Submits Complaint to UN on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" 31 January 2022

On 31 January 2022, the UNPO submited a letter of complaint to United Nations experts on the human rights impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on minorities and indigenous communities in Pakistan. In May 2022 Pakistan will be visited by the UN independent expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights. This provides a tangible opportunity to shed light on the extent to which Pakistan has become indebted to China through its Belt and Road Initiative and the negative impact that this has on the realization of minority and indigenous rights in Pakistan. [...]

[...] And since that time, the UNPO has been holding a series of consultations with UNPO member peoples on the BRI and on foreign investment and the right to land, each of which has pointed to China's Belt and Road initiative representing a significant threat to minorities and indigenous people worldwide. We are currently examining how dam building along the Mekong and Indus Rivers are leading to the destruction of the respective river deltas, with subsequent destruction of the livelihoods and cultures of the Khmer Krom and Sindh people who are indigenous to the Mekong Delta and Indus River Delta respectively. [...]