Indigenous women's participation at th 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, 28 February to 11 March 2005

Activities and Outcomes

Introduction

About 60 indigenous women from different parts of the world participated at the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March in New York, where the review and evaluation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action took place. Indigenous women participated in two official panels and six side events, held two press conferences, attended a week-long seminar on international issues, adopted a declaration and proposed a resolution on indigenous women and girls that was finally adopted at the Commission on the Status of Women. The resolution, the first on indigenous women at the CSW, highlights their rights and specific needs, including regarding poverty and violence, and was considered a big achievement of the indigenous women’s work.

International Women’s Day observance
Ms. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Prize 1992, indigenous Maya-Quiché from Guatemala participated in the high-level panel celebrating the International Women’s Day observance.

Panel “Future perspectives on the promotion of gender equality: through the eyes of young women and men.”
Ms. Felicitas Martinez Solano, indigenous young leader from Mexico participated in the above mentioned panel. Presentation (spanish only)

“Indigenous Women: 10 years after Beijing” -Side Event organized by SPFII
The purpose of the side event was to review and appraise the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action through an indigenous women’s perspective.

The panelists were Ms. Lucy Mulenkei, African Indigenous Women’s Organization - Indigenous Information Network; Ms. Tarcila Rivera, CHIRAPAQ, Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú; Ms. Stella Tamang, South Asia Indigenous Women’s Forum, and Ms. Beverley Jacobs, President of the Native Women's Association of Canada. The Panel was chaired by Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and Ms. Elsa Stamatopoulou, Chief of SPFII, made opening remarks. The panelists presented outcomes achieved from 1995 until now and identified challenges and recommendations for actions for the future.

Program

Presentations: Ms. Rivera (spanish) / Ms. Tamang / Ms. Jacobs

Note of the Side Event

“Women’s Empowerment in Rural Communities”
Side event organized by SPFII- FIMI/IIWF - MADRE – CHIRAPAQ - The Hunger Project
The purpose of this panel was to explore issues related to sustainable development, land use, food security and resource management.

The panelists were Ms. Tania Pariona CHIRAPAQ, Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú; Mr. John Conrod,The Hunger Project; Ms. Rose Cunningham, Wangky Tangni de Nicaragua; Ms. Rebecca Lolosoli, Umoja Uaso Women’s Group. The Panel was chaired by Ms. Tarcila Rivera, CHIRAPAQ, Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú; and Ms. Elsa Stamatopoulou, Chief of SPFII, made opening remarks.

“Rural Women’s Access to Land and Property”
Roundtable organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The roundtable provided insight to issues that affect rural women’s economic status and their role in public decision- making, from the grass-roots upwards.

The panelists were Ms. Rachel Mayanja, UN Assistant Secretary- General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women; Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM and Ms. Lucy Mulenkei, Head of the Indigenous Information Network. Mr. Phrang Roy, Assitant President/External Affairs Department of IFAD made introductory remarks and Mr. Anwarul Chowdhury, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, made the opening remarks.

“Women, Peace and Environment”
Side event organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUCN).

The panelists were Ms. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Ms. Wangari Mattai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

“Discussion on the Implementation of the Sisters in Spirit Campaign”
The discussion was organized by Native Women's Association of Canada. The panelists included Ms. Beverley Jacobs, President of the Native Women's Association of Canada and Ms. Kate Shiel, Amnesty International.

During the side event, the “Sisters in Spirit campaign” was presented as well as the report by Amnesty International, "Stolen Sisters". The session concluded sharing experiences of indigenous women from different parts of the world and reaffirming that violence against indigenous women is a global issue

“Indigenous and afro-descendent adolescents and young women”
The panel was organized by UNICEF. The purpose of this panel was to discuss the participation of indigenous, afro-descendent adolescents and young women in the achievement of the MDG’s and the follow-up to the Beijing Platform for Action; the impact of national and regional networks and ways to go in the future.

Press Conference - 3 March 2005
Hosted by the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and MADRE. The speakers included: Ms. Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Peace Prize 1992; Ms. Lucy Mulenkei, Indigenous Information Network from Kenya; Ms. Vicki Tauli-Corpuz, Member of the UNPFII.

Even though indigenous women were not included by name 10 years ago in the Beijing Platform for Action, they have made great strides in participation in international processes. But as the world’s need for valuable resources grows, the real-life situations faced by indigenous communities grows increasingly dangerous, andincreases the vulnerability of women and girls. The panelists at the press conference are leaders heading grassroots campaigns and capacity-building processes. They highlighted issues of great importance in their communities, such as: trafficking, discrimination and abuse at home and in society, denial of education and healthcare, loss of land and resources, impact of armed conflict, invisibility in census-taking and its consequences, and loss of indigenous cultures, languages and understanding of the environment.

Press Release

Press Conference - 10 March 2005
Hosted by the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and MADRE. The speakers included: Ms. Mirna Cunningham, President of the Centre for Indigenous People’s Autonomy and Development on the North Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua; Ms. Rebecca Samaria Lolosoli, founder of Umoja Uaso Women’s Group in Kenya; and Ms. Celeste McKay, representative of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

Violence against Indigenous women reflects global trends, mediated by histories and conditions specific to each region, including colonization, war, migration, and the globalized economic policies. In many regions, gender-based violence was integral to the European conquest, setting a pernicious pattern in which Indigenous women have been disproportionately targeted for rape as a weapon of war. Indigenous women continue to be subjected to gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict and forced displacement. For Indigenous women, gender-based violence is fueled by racism and discrimination as well as sexism, and is perpetuated by policies that deny Indigenous women and their families access to the justice system and to critical resources such as education and healthcare. Due to extreme marginalization, Indigenous women are effectively denied access to most public services—including education, medical care, police protection, telephone service, and transportation—that could prevent or redress violence. In fact, public services are themselves a site of violence against Indigenous women.

Press Release

Training sessions for Indigenous women
During the first week of the CSW, the International Indigenous Women's Forum (IIWF/FIMI) and the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum scheduled five training sessions on the following topics: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Special Rapporteurs; Women in Conflict and Post-conflict; Migration; CEDAW, Shadow Reports and Human Rights complaints procedures; and the 1503 procedure. The trainings aimed to give participants a better understanding of international instruments, UN agencies and successful initiatives that can be used as advocacy tools and strategies at the local and national level.

International Indigenous Women’s Forum/ Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas (IIWF/FIMI)
IIWF/FIMI is a Network of Indigenous Women’s Organizations Worldwide that organized the conference titled "International Indigenous Women’s Forum: Bringing Indigenous Perspectives to the International Arena”. 60 women from Africa, the Americas, and Asia attended this Forum whose purpose was to integrate agendas, strengthen unity among the divergent indigenous groups, further develop leadership and advocacy skills, and learn how to increase indigenous women’s participation in decision-making processes related to projects, programs, policies, and laws, from the local and national levels to the international arena. After, three-full working days a declaration was adopted and a draft resolution was proposed for adoption by the Commission on the Status of Women.

Declaration: Spanish / English

Resolution “Indigenous women beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”

At the 16th meeting, on 9 March, the representative of Bolivia, on behalf of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, introduced a draft resolution, entitled “Indigenous women beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action” (E/CN.6/2005/L.10). Subsequently, Belize, Canada, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. Friday, 11 March, the resolution was adopted by the CSW.

Resolution: English / French / Russian/ Spanish