Rights-based claims and extractive industries in Asia: an assessment and ways forward

The working paper offers an inductive approach to identifying what rights-based claims have been documented in the context of resource extraction. Drawing from a substantial literature review informed by the principles and steps of systematic review, we were able to form a generalized typology of rights-based claims that encompassed environmental justice, Indigenous rights and land claims, and artisanal and small-scale mining rights.

Despite new developments in, and spaces for, rights-based claims in the context of extractive industry development, much remains to be done to support rights claimants. Too often, Indigenous Peoples and local communities suffer from the consequences of extractive industries. While international mechanisms and the principles of environmental justice provide pathways for rights-based claim-making, recourse measures are still hard-fought and resource-intense efforts that are difficult to sustain for many rights holders.

The onus for such protections should not rest solely upon the shoulders of rights claimants. In the context of South and Southeast Asia, there is a great deal of room for industry and government to engage with inclusive development and participatory decision-making principles. This includes engaging with, and substantively addressing, the concerns of communities who are affected by resource development. That said, this assessment has ramifications for two important areas: more effective support of rights-based claims and future research on rights-based claims.