INDIGENOUS WOMEN
“Now the women are rising up. And when the women rise up
from a nation, they are the strongest voice that can be heard and it’s a voice
that cannot be silenced.”
- Diane Reed, President of the Cree
Society for the Communications in the 1990’s
Indigenous Women and the UN system
Indigenous women have always been part of their peoples’ struggles, whether nationally or at international fora. There is a legacy of extraordinary women, who came to the UN since the very first year of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, in 1982 in Geneva, Switzerland. Today, at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues indigenous women participate in great numbers and have a strong voice.
The interface between indigenous women’s movement and the international women’s movement varies through the years. Not always were they close, most of all due to particularities in the situation of indigenous women who live in communities in struggle. However, in recent years the two movements are getting closer. For instance, indigenous women are now raising stronger voices in claiming the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Despite their enormous assets and contribution to society, indigenous women still suffer from multiple discrimination, both as women and as indigenous individuals. They are subjected to extreme poverty, trafficking, illiteracy, lack of access to ancestral lands, non-existent or poor health care and to violence in the private and the public sphere. This violence is exacerbated when indigenous communities find themselves in the midst of conflict and women become the target of violence with political motives, when going about their daily work, fetching wood or water for the family.
Indigenous women and the UNPFII
The Third Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2004 was
focused on indigenous women, and adopted a comprehensive agenda.
The
session was enriched by three preparatory meetings held in Latin America,
Africa, and Asia. Some twelve pages of policy recommendations issued by the
UNPFII encompass broad areas from education, health, human rights, to conflict,
political participation and development.
The UNPFII has expressed its concern in particular in the following areas:
- The need of data collection and disaggregated data, including indigenous women.
- The inclusiveness of indigenous women concerning the principle of free, prior and informed consent.
- The necessity to take into account indigenous women’s issues in striving for the MDG’s.
>>>Report of the Third Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Another important initiative of the UNPFII is the creation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Indigenous Women.
In 11 June 2004, the Task Force on Indigenous Women (TFIW) was initiated following a decision of the Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANGWE) and the recommendations of the UNPFII at its Third (2004) Session regarding indigenous women. So far, members of the Task Force are the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Commonwealth Secretariat, Department for the Advancement of Women/ Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DAW/DESA), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), International Labour Organization (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (INSTRAW), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) World Health Organization (WHO) and Interagency Gender & Water Task Force/ Sustainable Development Division / DESA. It is chaired by the Secretariat of the UNPFII.
The main purpose of the TFIW is to integrate and strengthen gender mainstreaming as regards indigenous women’s roles and the special concerns of indigenous women as an emerging key issue in the work of the United Nations system.
During the first year, 2004-2005, the Task Force conducted a general survey
of work of the United Nations (UN) system with indigenous women. During the
second year, 2005-2006, the Task Force devoted its efforts to collecting good
practices and lessons-learnt from the work of the UN system with indigenous
women. The
compilation of the case studies may be found here
A
publication will be prepared and distributed widely among UN Country Teams.
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
During the 50th Session of the CSW, the official panel for the commemoration of the International Women’s Day, on 8 March 2006, included Ms. Noeli Pocaterra, President of the Permanent Commission of Indigenous Peoples National Assembly, Venezuela. In addition, on 1st March, the SPFII co-sponsored jointly with MADRE and the International Indigenous Women Forum 2006 a side event on “Violence against Indigenous Women”. On 28 February 2006, the SPFII participated on a panel on "Opportunities and Challenges for Women in the Americas" organized by UNIFEM/LAC and the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations.
In conjunction with the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women to be held in February-March 2007, the UN Division for the Advancement of Women is organizing an online discussion on “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child". The discussion is scheduled to be held from 14 August to 8 September 2006.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW
The Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in
1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as the most important
international instrument of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30
articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up
an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
As of 2 March 2006,
183 countries - over ninety percent of the members of the United Nations - are
party to the Convention.
Next session (15 January- 2 February 2007)
NGOs,
including Indigenous women’s organizations are invited to provide information to
the Committee and also to attend and participate to the NGO session
The
following countries will be presenting reports Tajikistan, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Colombia, Greece, India, Kazakhastan, Maldives, Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua,
Peru, Poland, Suriname, y
Vietnam