Why rights to livelihoods of indigenous ethnic communities in the Mekong region matter

Working on claiming rights to livelihoods, especially land rights and forest rights, of indigenous ethnic communities is never an easy job, particularly in the contexts of the Mekong region countries (mainly Vietnam, Lao PDR) where governments continue to exercise strong centralized powers.

Rights to livelihoods are fundamental and essential to everyone. And this is especially true for those who are marginalized or disadvantaged of opportunities in the society, often known as indigenous groups, tribal communities, and ethnic minorities. The terms referring to these groups may vary depending on countries or nations.

In this document, we (the Livelihood Sovereignty Alliance - LISO - an alliance comprises of three leading local NGOs: SPERI-CIRUM-CODE) define the target groups with whom we have long been working together to claim their rights to livelihoods as indigenous ethnic communities in the Mekong region.