Communities in the Mekong region face multiple threats their human rights from companies and state-owned enterprises capitalizing on export-driven economic policies and natural resource extraction. Rapid infrastructure development, mining activities, and forest and wetland conversion for industrial agricultural production are putting communities and ecosystems at risk. At the same time, severe restrictions on civic space, lack of adequate legal protections and/or weak rule of law often foreclose options for rights holders to seek remedy.

Following the conclusion of the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific, Just Ground and EarthRights International convened an Access to Remedy workshop with over 30 human rights defenders, community activists, and lawyers, to discuss challenges, share strategies, and make recommendations for improving access to remedy for human rights abuses linked to corporate activity in the Mekong Region. Their experiences demonstrate creativity and determination in forging pathways to remedy, from innovative litigation and legislative advocacy within the region, to seeking accountability from international investors that finance projects or from companies upstream in supply chains.

This briefer, co-published with EarthRights International, Forests and Livelihood Organization (FLO), Community Resource Center, and Blood Money Campaign, shares the lessons learned and recommendations for change that came out of the Access to Remedy workshop. In particular, it points to several themes for further advocacy and collaboration, including: shifting power to Indigenous people and other frontline communities; pushing for mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that has strong provisions on remedy; and strengthening civic freedom and access to courts in the region, among others. The workshop, and the briefer, serve as a starting point for a longer conversation that aims to strengthen collaboration on access to remedy in the region.