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Just a few years ago, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Victoria “Vicky” Tauli Corpuz, had every reason to live in fear.

During the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, she was included in a list of 600 scholars, activists, and lawyers that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had wanted a Manila Regional Trial Court to describe as terrorists, along with the New People’s Army, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

At that time, Corpuz was serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, making the situation all the more alarming.

The Red-tagging stemmed from Corpuz’s condemnation of a 2017 large-scale military operation launched by Duterte to displace the “lumads,” the collective name for the indigenous group in Mindanao.

But the 71-year-old indigenous peoples (IP) rights advocate, who hails from Besao town in Mountain Province, did not waver in her mission to be the voice of the afflicted and the marginalized. 

Corpuz, a Kankanaey-Igorot, says the unfounded accusations hurled at her only fueled her determination to stand up for IPs who continually face threats while defending their lands.

For her, giving in to fear would have meant conceding defeat.

Supported by the global community, which stood by her during that challenging period, Corpuz confronted the allegations without hesitation.

On Sept. 21 last year, the DOJ’s petition was dismissed by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, who concluded that the government’s counterinsurgency measures “should include respect for the right to dissent, due process, and the rule of law.”

Corpuz is no stranger to being wrongly labeled for being an activist. During Martial Law under the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr., her name was included in an “order of battle” or a hit list of personalities considered enemies of the state.

Prominent figure

With Corpuz’s devotion to mobilizing indigenous peoples and advocating for women’s rights in the last three decades, she has become a prominent figure in the global campaign for the recognition of IP rights.

And coming from a family of human rights and environmental defenders, Corpuz says she and her family members have endured persistent harassment and baseless allegations.

However, her efforts as an indigenous environmental defender resulted in her being shortlisted for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2023.

She is also known for her pivotal role in helping lead the successful push for the UN General Assembly to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. The declaration is an international instrument deemed a major, universal human rights document that IPs often resort to when defending their rights.

According to the website of the UN Human Rights Office, Corpuz also founded and managed various nongovernment organizations involved in social awareness raising, climate change, and the advancement of indigenous peoples’ and women’s rights, and she is a member of the UN Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.

Currently, Corpuz serves as the executive director of IP research and advocacy group Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Center for Policy Research and Education), where she advocates for constructive dialogue.

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Oral statement by Romita Reang on behalf of the Asia Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN) and the Indigenous Women’s Forum of North East India (IWFNEI) during the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Priority Theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective

I am Romita Reang, and I come from the Reang (Bru) Tribe, which is recognised as a Scheduled Tribe and a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in India. It is an honour and pride for an Indigenous woman from a Scheduled Tribe to have this opportunity to represent Asia Indigenous Women’s Network and Indigenous Women’s Forum of North East India in bringing to the table important priority issues and the concerns of Indigenous Women. 

Indigenous Women’s Forum of North East India (IWFNEI) is a mass-based women’s organization in North East India that is based on the common aspirations of indigenous tribal peoples. It aims to strengthen indigenous women’s participation in decision-making bodies and socio-economic issues, as well as strengthen traditional knowledge and culture. It has been active in building the skills and capabilities of indigenous women and in peacebuilding, mediation and dialogue among the conflicting communities.

The primary reasons for the slow progress toward gender equality and empowerment are:

1. Access - Access to adequate and appropriate public services and social protection systems remains a challenge to indigenous women and girls. 

2. Weak delivery and implementation - Initiatives for empowerment are encumbered by inadequate and/or weak implementation of statutory and customary laws and institutions that have yet to fully embrace the concept of gender equality to enable efficient operationalization on the ground.

While there are pólices in place and government efforts to respond to indigenous women’s empowerment, there is a big gap in efficient implementation, usually due to meager resources, low capacities and vague mechanisms. Our own efforts for the same are beset with the lack of appropriate information, skills and capacities to access services, resources, the law and justice.

On this note, on behalf of the Asia Indigenous Women’s Network and Indigenous Women’s Forum of North-East India, recommend:

  1. It is important to note the intersections and interconnections of the disempowerment of indigenous women. The institutionalization of poverty among indigenous women and girls requires systemic, comprehensive, gender-responsive and culturally sensitive approaches. It starts with an acknowledgement of how mechanisms that address poverty among indigenous women and girls require a holistic response to the loss of indigenous territories and exploitation of their natural resources, including conservationist initiatives and their history of discrimination.
  2. Recognize and support indigenous women's and their communities' right to self-determination to define the development they want and the empowerment mechanisms they need. Governments, development agencies and donors must ensure increased political representation and participation of indigenous women at the traditional, local, national and international levels and provide adequate spaces and resources to ensure their voices are heard in decision-making institutions, including the customary judicial system.
  3. Create collaborative efforts among international agencies, national institutions and indigenous women and girls agencies to advance indigenous women's empowerment through the effective implementation of GR 39. xxx

Oral Intervention by Eleanor P. Dictaan – Bang-oa on behalf of the Asia Indigenous Women’s Network, Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education (Tebtebba) and the Indigenous Women’s Forum of North East India (IWFNEI) during the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Poverty is a result of the accumulation of resources and power. Twenty-nine years ago, Indigenous Women gathered in Beijing and let me start off by quoting a part of their call for the world we want. “We, the women of the original peoples of the world have struggled actively to defend our rights to self-determination and to our territories which have been invaded and colonized by powerful nations and interests. We have been and are continuing to suffer from multiple oppressions; as Indigenous peoples, as citizens of colonized and neo-colonial countries, as women, and as members of the poorer classes of society.  In spite of this, we have been and continue to protect, transmit, and develop our Indigenous cosmovision, our science and technologies, our arts and culture, and our Indigenous socio-political economic systems, which are in harmony with the natural laws of mother earth. We still retain the ethical and esthetic values, the knowledge and philosophy, the spirituality, which conserves and nurtures Mother Earth. We are persisting in our struggles for self-determination and for our rights to our territories. This has been shown in our tenacity and capacity to withstand and survive the colonization happening in our lands in the last 500 years.” 

Today, this multidimensional poverty persists and is galvanized by the impacts of climate change. The UNESCAP 2024 Report projected that the SDGs can only be achieved in 32 years given the current pace of implementation. It also highlights the urgency of climate action in the region which is either off-track or in reverse. 

Asia is home to 2/3 of the world’s indigenous peoples. As I speak here today, my indigenous sisters in Asia and the world over are battling poverty from all dimensions borne by the cumulative impacts of historical discrimination resulting to a general condition of lack of or inaccessibility of basic services like education, health and infrastructure. Of the trickles that reach the communities, there is lack of effective information, mechanisms and capacities to facilitate maximization to their full benefit. 

As I speak here today, indigenous women human rights defenders, their communities and organizations are continuously being persecuted for protecting their land, resources and territories which are essential to their economic security while ensuring a healthy planet for the next generations.  Loss of lands and resources, destruction of women’s means of subsistence, their knowledge and practice in the name of development and climate mitigation continues to impoverish and marginalize indigenous women and girls.

On this note, the Asia Indigenous Women’s Network, the Indigenous Peoples International Centre for Policy Research and Education and the Indigenous Women’s Forum of North East India are advancing these recommendations to the UNCSW 68th Session:

1) We urge States, the UN Agencies and the donor community to ensure the operationalization of the Agreed Conclusions of CSW66, particularly paragraphs 11, 58, (dd) and (qq) consistent with CEDAW General Recommendation 39 on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls;

2) We will continue our work to advance the principles of the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women in the different context and platforms of engagement and decision-making. We commend initiatives for comprehensive approaches for poverty reduction. We also note the intended benefits of social protection programs and safeguard policies. For indigenous women and girls, however, all these has to be anchored on their individual and collective rights as Indigenous Peoples. The link between the protection and fulfillment of fundamental rights and freedoms in responding to poverty and the realization of full human potential has to be clearly drawn in order to achieve the SDGs.

3) In the spirit of the principle of inclusion, we urge development actors especially the States, donor agencies and the UN to:

a) ensure effective participation of indigenous women with State institutions at all levels specially on access to lands and natural resources, access to public services, development planning, implementation and governance within and beyond their communities and  

b) invest on data disaggregation based on ethnicity and support citizen – generated data. Indigenous women’s contributions are indispensable in achieving climate action goals and the broader 2030 Agenda.

We are, and, we will be here. We shall remain committed to a future with justice and dignity for women and girls, in all diversity! xxx

 

E-SAK KA OU DECLARATION

30 November 2023, 9:36 am Written by
Published in Latest News

PREAMBLE

Life and land are the same. We are the same as the land. We come from the land. We go back to the land. We cannot see the land as our possession, because, really, we belong to the land. If we understand this, we’ll know how to share and give. But if we don’t understand, we’ll fight and take land to make it ours.” – Joni Odochao, Karen elder

Asia is a region of high biological and cultural diversity, where we, Indigenous Peoples, play a vital role in conserving and managing our land, territories, waters and resources. However, we also face multiple challenges and threats from climate change, deforestation, land degradation, violation of human rights, and so-called development. Therefore, it is essential for governments to support, recognize, and respect our values, practices, land, territories, waters, and resources.

Guided by the wisdom of our ancestors and elders, who have defended our land, territories, waters and resources since time immemorial;

Committed to fulfilling our role as stewards of the land, territories, waters, nature, and our cultural heritage;

Motivated by the desire to continue promoting Indigenous Peoples’ values of community solidarity, caring, and sharing, to future generations and to the wider community;

Alarmed by rapid biodiversity loss, uncontrolled global warming, and widespread pollution, all of which are degrading our quality of life and threatening our cultures, predicting a dismal future for current and future generations, and the planet and life on earth;

Conscious that the biodiversity, climate, and pollution crises are rooted in the unjust socio-economic and political structures and relations that violate human and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, for which the perpetrators and duty-bearers should be held accountable;

Reiterating that we are entitled to our collective rights as stated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which all governments must recognize and respect in their legal and policy frameworks. Attempts by governments to dilute the rights of Indigenous Peoples through generalizations and other terminologies that distort our identity and legal rights shall not be tolerated;

Affirming that Indigenous Peoples’ active participation in all relevant policy-making and decision-making processes is vital for achieving the vision and objectives of co-existence and well-being of humans and nature;

We, the 47 delegates to the Asia Regional Conference on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Biodiversity, and Climate Change, held on November 5-8, 2023 in Krabi, Thailand, representing 32 Indigenous Peoples’ communities, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and development organizations from 11 countries, concluded the conference with the assertion of our rights and the call for safeguards to protect these rights, as stated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

We now forward this Conference Declaration as a statement of our collective position as Indigenous Peoples towards seeking collaborative solutions to the urgent concerns and issues confronting us and the whole of humankind.

Please click here to read the full E-Sak Ka Ou Declaration

Click here to view on AIPP's website

7-16 March 2023, UNHQ, NY

Indigenous women are found in different context and situations of marginalization be it in the urban centers or rural and geographically isolated areas. They share a common history of discrimination due to their identities as indigenous women. Part of this is the continuing inaccessibility of the basic foundations for empowerment: quality and appropriate education and health services. These already presents a wide gap to fill for indigenous women and girls, alone.

Set against the backdrop of big business and weak governance, the current situations of  development aggression, exclusive conservation, militarism and reprisals against indigenous women human rights defenders and their communities, resulting to  massive displacement,  violence against indigenous women and girls,  loss of indigenous lands, territories and resources,  indigenous knowledge, lifeways and practice that are essential in the combat  against  global warming and biodiversity loss, can all be linked to the advancements in innovation, technology and digitization. Social media, for example, is being maximized to spread disinformation and vilify indigenous women and youth defending their lands and territories, in the Philippines, posing danger to their lives and families.

Human survival is dependent on a robust biodiversity, partially managed by indigenous women through collective indigenous knowledge and practice. Technology and innovation, however, has been undermining indigenous women and their communities resulting to disenfranchisement and the appropriation of their knowledge with corrosive impacts on indigenous culture and identity especially among the youth.

Their invisibility in official statistics, further, speaks of this continuing discrimination.

We reiterate paragraph 61 (o) of the agreed conclusions of the UNCSW 62nd session (N2107907) on the need for data disaggregation to inform policies and initiatives including on innovation and technological change and education on the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls especially in relation to the historically marginalized women like indigenous, differently-abled, rural women, among others.

We, indigenous women, recognize the value of innovation, technology and education in the digital age and are in fact exploring all these as tools for our advantage but there are huge barriers that cannot be overcomed by our efforts alone.  In this era of fast technological advances, there is a need to stop and address the structural barriers that impede the realization of inclusive and sustainable development that we all have committed to.

We, indigenous women, highly appreciate the work and effort of the UNCEDAW for the Adoption of the CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 on the   Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls (2022).

With other indigenous women across the globe, we recommend that this 67th Session endorse   a resolution adopting CEDAW GR 39 as the minimum standard and basic framework for the Global Digital Compact and in all policy reform and development initiatives in response to the SDGs, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of indigenous women and girls in diverse contexts. Specifically, the resolution should urge:

1.    States to take urgent action on and allocate sufficient resources into the effective operationalization of GR 39 in compliance to their commitments to the CEDAW, the UNDRIP and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly targets 23, 22 and 21, among others.  General Recommendation 39 provides a framework towards the achievement of empowerment of indigenous women and girls necessary for inclusion and the achievement of SDG 5. In this regard, states are also urged to take on paragraph 61 (o) of the agreed conclusions of the UNCSW 62nd session (N2107907) on the need for data disaggregation, particularly based on ethnicity as we, further, reiterate    the recommendations in relation to the empowerment of indigenous women and girls in digital technology and education by the UNESCO – IITE Policy Brief on ICTs and Indigenous Peoples;

2.    States, donor and development agencies to invest on the effective integration of the principles and provisions of GR 39 into their gender and social inclusion strategies, plans and programmes including in the monitoring, evaluation and redress processes.   

Thank you for your attention!

Contact: Eleanor P. Dictaan – Bang-oa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework during its 15th meeting in Montreal, Canada last December 7-19, 2022.

The Framework has significant references to indigenous peoples and acknowledged the important roles and contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities as custodians of biodiversity and partners in the conservation, restoration and sustainable use.

The Framework also emphasized that its successful implementation will depend on ensuring gender equality and empowerment of women and girls and reducing inequalities.

The full text of the Global Biodiversity Framework is available at https://bit.ly/3WuJhoY.

How to obtain funds to combat climate change?

18 January 2023, 3:02 am Written by
Published in Latest News

The Paran women in Kenya have brought rain back to the outskirts of the Mau Forest. Their groundbreaking work against climate change has given them access to financial resources. They have also been awarded FIMI’s Indigenous Women’s Leadership Award. 

One person needs 300 dollars to ignite the food revolution by growing a basic organic food garden. Depending on the country and access to water, this amount can vary from 300 to 1500 dollars. 

One of the daily practices of Indigenous Women is to grow a backyard food garden, allowing us to preserve the biodiversity of the land and our native foods. This activity is now at risk because climate change has modified the rain cycle in the communities.

The Paris Agreement signed in 2014 gave the promise of funding in the amount of 10.3 billion for actions against climate change. Where are these resources for the Indigenous Peoples, who protect and live surrounded by 80% of the planet’s biodiversity?

Continue reading the article at https://fimi-iiwf.org/

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted General recommendation No. 39 on the rights of indigenous women and girls on October 26, 2022.

Texts in major langauges of the General recommendation is accessible at https://bit.ly/3Wfw9DG

28 June 2022
 
Good morning and thank you for this opportunity to speak in this very important space today. 
 
The CEDAW General Recommendation 39 on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls is a very welcome advancement in the respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous women and girls and the acknowledgement and articulation of how these are intrinsically linked to our identities and our experiences of historical discrimination and violence. 
 
To be born as an indigenous female, (especially in the context of Asia), already predisposes one to a complexity of challenges and barriers in the realization of a life with dignity. One has to keep proving herself against existing norms and biases from the domestic to the public space. On top of this, are global experiences of cultural, structural, social, spiritual and environmental aggression emerging from such stereotypes. Nevertheless, we, Indigenous women, with our communities have been standing our grounds, constantly honing and transforming cultural heritage, knowledge, skills, institutions and networks in response to these multiple crises despite threats to lives and limbs.
 
Honorable representatives of member states, the adoption of the GR will be a historical  milestone in the  achievement of  state commitments to the  Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action   where indigenous women rallied for the ‘recognition of the diversity of women and their roles and circumstances’, calling for states to “intensify efforts to  ensure equal enjoyment  of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and girls, who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability, or because they are Indigenous Peoples” (BPFA, UN 1995). It’s a big leap after 27 years and it sure will be a gamechanger in the current commitments to ‘leaving no one behind’ in the context of sustainable development.
 
We urge everyone in this room today to   make a difference on the lives of about 370 million indigenous peoples globally, more particularly, indigenous women and girls. Our common aspiration of making the world a better place, as envisioned by the SDGs, very much speaks to our indigenous spirituality and practice as stewards of the land for the future generations.  Let us put our feet, in the shoes of indigenous parents, aunties, uncles or grandparents. Don’t we all want the best for our children and grandchildren?
 
As parties to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the UNDRIP, we urge member states to adopt GR 39 in due time.  
 
We commend the CEDAW committee and the OHCHR for listening to the voices of indigenous women and we look forward to its immediate finalization and adoption. The adoption and enforcement of GR 39 will make CEDAW more meaningful to indigenous women! 
 
We are also looking forward, beyond the adoption and we commit to its full realization on the ground.
 
I am Eleanor Dictaan–Bang-oa, a Kankanaey-Igorot from Northern Philippines with the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network and the Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education.  
 
Thank you for your attention. 
 

“We developed this proposal based on your responses. It’s a small fund but we can do something relevant with it in the next two years.”

 

 

Eleanor Dictaan-Bang-oa of the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN) Secretariat underscored the importance of making the most of the support obtained from the Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indigenas (FIMI) AYNI Fund during the AIWN virtual project inception for its two-year project, “Building on Indigenous Women for Just Economic Recovery,” on 10 and 21 May 2022. The two-day inception event was organized to level off on project implementation and orient AIWN partners about narrative and finance reporting templates and procedures.

Representatives of the Indigenous Women’s Forum of Northeast India (IWFNEI), Indigenous Women’s Network of Thailand (IWNT) and Perempuan-AMAN in Indonesia, the main implementers of the project, presented their workplans stipulating their activities and timelines.

With the small fund, IWFNEI plans to organize a general assembly for Boro, Garo, Hmar, Khasi, Naga, and Tripura indigenous women to strengthen their advocacy and commitment in the recognition and realization of indigenous women’s rights at the community and national levels. Market survey and training on entrepreneurship, food processing and packaging would be the main activities of IWNT which will respond to Karen and Hmong indigenous women’s economic empowerment, building on their cultural and social capitals.  Meanwhile, Perempuan-AMAN will carry out capacity building activities for Batak, Dayak, Melayu Deli, Toraya, Kulawi, Sasak, Loge, Rendu, Mattoke, Howana, Massenrempulu, Osing, Kasepuhan indigenous women to help them understand and access government policies and programs. Three different Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) documents were drafted, to be signed between AIWN-Tebtebba and the said partner organizations.

 

 

A focused discussion on finance reporting was conducted on the second day of the project inception activity. Partners were briefed on the general guidelines on finance reporting in compliance with FIMI administrative and finance policies. Specific templates for finance reporting were presented during the discussion. Each partner organization, then, introduced their designated finance staff responsible for the preparation and submission of finance reports for the project.

Aiming to demonstrate the indigenous women’s perspective of building back better from the scourge of the COVID19 pandemic, this initiative is supported through the AYNI Fund under the second stint of the Learning From the South (LFS) Program of FIMI. Ayni is a Quechua/ Kichua word that synthesizes reciprocity, solidarity, and fair and equitable work between humans and other beings of the cosmos.