Regional summary: Mainstreaming the UNGP BHR in Asia* By Joel Pagsanghan Overview of the Study A bout 75 percent of the world’s farming households are in Asia, and about 80 percent of these are small scale farmers and producers (ANGOC, 2012). For them, land is the key to livelihood, and control over their own destiny. For many, it is even part of their identity. However, recent years have witnessed an increased demand for land, as governments and big business have pursued an export–oriented strategy founded in large measure on agricultural investments and natural resource exploitation. The result has been a marked increase in the number and intensity of land conflicts, with the rural poor often becoming victims of human rights violations. On 16 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP BHR) as part of implementing the UN “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” Framework. This was brought about by the realization that – at the peak of globalization – delineation of clear roles and responsibilities of business enterprises at the local, national, and international level are very important to ensuring human rights practice (OHCHR, 2011). The UNGP BHR standards are relevant because the business sector has a wide range of impacts – both positive and negative – on human rights, including: 1) adequate standard of living; 2) just and favorable conditions of work; 3) water and sanitation; 4) education; 5) access to information; and, 6) non-discrimination (Gotzmann and O’Brien, 2013). * Prepared by Joel Pagsanghan, with inputs from the Asian NGO Coalition (ANGOC) and Land Watch Asia (LWA), for the regional initiative “Defending Land Rights and Human Rights Defenders.” The document summarizes the major issues and recommendations from the papers on UNGP BHR in six countries in Asia, and the results of the discussions during the regional workshop “Engaging National Human Rights Institutions Toward the Promotion of Land Rights as Human Rights” (15-16 November 2018; Bangkok, Thailand). Citation: Pagsanghan, J. (2018). Regional summary, Mainstreaming the UNGP BHR in Asia. In ANGOC (Ed.) Upholding Land Rights Amidst the Land Rush: A situationer on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in selected countries in Asia (pp. 11-30). Quezon City: ANGOC and KPA. ANGOC and KPA 11