A situational-case with the Lumad serves as an exemplar. The Lumad are a group of indigenous people that consists of 18 ethnolinguistic groups in the southern regions of the Philippines. The name, Lumad, is an abbreviation for Katawhang Lumad (literally “indigenous peoples”). Similar to many indigenous groups, the people are poor, disadvantaged and marginalized. Historically, the Lumad have a complex history in the Philippines with roots that extend to the 11th century. Oona Paredes’ work, entitled ‘A Mountain of Difference’, describes the regional oral traditions that may have possibly reconceptualized the political and cultural history of the islands. The author portrays Spanish archival sources providing a Catholic influence in Lumad customs. Despite political and cultural origins, the portrait of a marginalized indigenous group prevails. The circumstances of the Lumad mirror many other Southeast Asian groups and those across the globe in that they historically have struggled to maintain their rights to a nationality and self-determination. Contrary to two crucial covenants adopted in 1966– the International Covenant on Economic, Social “The circumstances of the and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Lumad mirror many other which enshrined in the same terms the right Southeast Asian groups and of people to self-determination, indigenous those across the globe in that people lack the freedom to choose their own they historically have strugsocial and cultural systems, among other contentious issues that revolve around edugled to maintain their rights cation and native lands. to a nationality and selfFurthermore, the Lumad battle statedetermination” lessness. Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, presented at the permanent forum on indigenous issues in May 2007, at New York. The report outlined many of the foundational issues faced by the Lumad and other indigenous groups in the Southeast Asian region, to include civil war, unrest with governments over communal lands, and human rights violations. Mr. Stavenhagen cites the lack of citizen rights as a long-standing basis of human rights violations against the Lumad in the Philippines, as well as other indigenous groups in the region, and called for an international response to address the ongoing issues. For example, women still face problems, and exploitation for the purposes of international marriages continues despite the Philippines’ Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (CEDAW/C/PHI/Q/6 2006: 19). The Lumad women seeking a way out of poverty find themselves victims of trafficking as they are prostituted by their own husbands. Equally as critical, the women’s children are decreed ‘stateless’ by virtue of the laws of certain countries. Again, in many instances, women find themselves and their children victims regardless of the Philippines enacting http://community.apsanet.org/migrationcitizenship/home 38