UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). 23nd session
Item 5 (d) Human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur
on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; annual review of progress
on the implementation of General Recommendation No. 39 (2022)
Statement of Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) on CEDAW’s General Recommendation No. 39
Indigenous Peoples Rights International would like to make visible the demands of Indigenous women to achieve the ‘good living’ and for the eradication of all multiple forms of violence we face on a daily basis. As a result of our fight and with our direct participation, General Recommendation number 39 was adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in October 2022. The General Recommendation deals specifically with the rights of indigenous women and girls within the framework of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, detailing the obligations of State parties to ensure and protect the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
Indigenous women and girls continue to be victims of the neglect and systematic lack of interest of the States, who ignore our security needs. There is no political will to address the disadvantages produced by structural violence, which goes together with impunity and denial of justice in the face of ongoing criminalization, murders and many ways of violence and discrimination against Indigenous women and girls. Our right to life and integrity is not guaranteed when we defend our territories and our cultural and ancestral rights. On the contrary, States themselves repress and criminalize legitimate protest, defence and resistance when our rights are being violated. The number of murders, criminalization, harassment, threats and violence against Indigenous women leaders continue to be alarming, as we have documented in several regions of the world.
In this context, IPRI considers GR39 as an important tool for the defence and protection of indigenous women and girls. We have undertaken several activities to promote it and make it known. Thus, in the framework of the III International March of Indigenous Women in Brazil, that took place in September, 2023 together with FIMI and ANMIGA we organized discussion and capacity-building workshops on the contents of GR39. We think it is very important that Indigenous women, and Indigenous organizations as a whole, are well aware of GR39 and request States full compliance.
Taking this into account, we would like to make the following recommendations:
- We recommend UNPFII to maintain the progress on the real implementation of General Recommendation No 39 and the review of the situation of Indigenous women and girls as a regular agenda item.
- We request the UNPFII to encourage States to submit information on concrete measures adopted for its effective implementation. These measures should include policies and budgetary resources to support projects lead by Indigenous women, with their full participation, in favour of their economic safety and autonomy within the framework of sustainable economies, as well as concrete and measurable mechanisms to prevent violence, ensuring our rights to life and to be free of violence.
- We recommend the UNPFII to request UN agencies to incorporate GR39 into their programs and projects at the national level, and to report to the UNPFII on their specific actions in this regard.
- We call States and others to promote the effective participation of indigenous women and girls in the elaboration and implementation of related public policies, which should take into account our perspectives and traditional knowledge.
Full implementation of GR39 requires the full and effective recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination, adequate consultation and free prior and informed consent, with the true participation of indigenous women. Our traditional practices and knowledge, which we transmit from generation to generation, arise and are linked to our lands, territories and natural resources. We demand respect to our territories and the end of their plunder.
Thank you Madam Chair
