AYIPN at the International Learning and Solidarity Mission & Asia Pacific People’s Conference
From October 11–15, 2025, the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) participated in the International Learning and Solidarity Mission (ILSM) organized by the People Rising for Climate Justice (PRCJ) in the Philippines. The mission was participated by Indigenous youth from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Northeast India, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Indonesia together with other Indigenous People, researchers, journalists, environmentalists and human rights defenders around the globe to witness firsthand the impacts of climate imperialism, environmental plunder, militarization and rights violations on Indigenous and rural communities in the Philippines.
During the ILSM, participants visited:
The Dumagat–Remontado community in Tanay, Rizal — defending their ancestral domains against the Kaliwa–Kanan–Laiban Dam project and windfarm developments threatening their forests, sacred sites, and water sources.
The Mangyan–Iraya community in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro — facing militarization, land grabbing, and corporate encroachment, where the presence of security forces has resulted in harassment, fear, and restrictions on mobility.
Throughout the mission, AYIPN delegates listened to stories of displacement, red-tagging, and attacks on land defenders, and even experienced surveillance, intimidation and harassment from state forces. They also helped in the documentation of human rights violations and environmental destruction. More importantly, they exchanged lessons, strength and stories of collective resistance of Indigenous Peoples, peasants, and communities standing up for land, life, environment and self-determination.
After the learning tour, the delegates proceeded to join the Asia Pacific People’s Conference Against Climate Imperialism and Militarism on October 16–17, 2025, where they shared findings from the mission, amplified grassroots stories, and linked local struggles to regional and global movements.
During the conference, Indigenous youth delegates highlighted the escalating militarization in their own Indigenous territories, the criminalization of environmental and land defenders, violations of International Humanitarian Law, and their strategies — from grassroots organizing, community education, advocacy, to strengthening cross-border solidarity to keep their culture, lands and communities alive.
AYIPN joins fellow movements in calling for:
- An end to development aggression and land grabbing in ancestral domains.
- Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land, culture, and self-determination as a climate solution.
- Climate action that is rights-based, community-led, and free from climate imperialism.
Read more about the findings of the mission at https://www.facebook.com/peoplesrisingcj
