EU: Address indigenous rights violations in Malaysian imports

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🗞️ Driving the news: A coalition of environmental and Indigenous rights groups is urging the EU to classify Sarawak, Malaysia, as "high risk" under its new anti-deforestation law
• This comes amid concerns over large-scale deforestation and violations of Indigenous rights linked to timber and palm oil plantations in the region

🔭 The context: Sarawak’s land laws and industrial expansion threaten Indigenous peoples' ancestral territories, making it difficult for them to protect their lands
• The EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation aims to block imports linked to deforestation, requiring stricter checks on goods from high-risk areas

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Sarawak's deforestation contributes to biodiversity loss and climate change
• Recognizing the region as high risk could enforce stronger protections for forests and Indigenous rights, ensuring more sustainable global supply chains

⏭️ What's next: The EU will classify areas as low, standard, or high risk by the end of 2024, with enforcement starting in 2025
• This designation would require tighter customs controls and due diligence from EU companies importing timber and palm oil from Sarawak

💬 One quote: “Logging companies are still bulldozing Indigenous peoples’ forests in Sarawak without consultation or consent,” said Celine Lim of SAVE Rivers

📈 One stat: Sarawak aims to establish 1 million hectares of industrial timber plantations by 2025, which could lead to the conversion of over 400,000 hectares of regenerating forests

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