We, the indigenous women of the Americas, Asia, Africa, the Arctic, and the Pacific, recalling the Fourth World Conference on Women organized in Beijing by the United Nations, assemble once more to reaffirm the advancements we have achieved during the past twenty years in terms of political advocacy at an international level.¹.

Firstly, we highlight the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Outcome Document adopted at UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. (A/RES/69/2).

We also highlight the two resolutions on indigenous women approved by the CSW: “Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”, which urges the adoption of measures that ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous women in all aspects of society²; and “Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication”³, which urges States and agencies of the United Nations system to adopt measures aimed at promoting the empowerment of indigenous women and the realization of our rights.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned advancements, 20 years after Beijing, the rights of indigenous women continue to be infringed upon in the majority of our countries and territories.

Thus, we urge Member States to include in the outcome document of the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women the following priorities:

1. To promote the generation of data disaggregated by ethnicity and gender; as well as to allocate budget to design and to monitor holistic indicators of indigenous peoples’ well-being⁴.

2. To examine the distinctive features of violence against indigenous women, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and other special procedures mandate holders within their respective mandates⁵.

3. We invite the Commission on the Status of Women to consider the issue of the empowerment of indigenous women at a future period of sessions⁶.

4. We recommend advocacy in favour of the empowerment of indigenous women and the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes designed to promote capacity-building and to strengthen their leadership, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women and their organizations. We urge states to honour their assumed commitments aimed at developing measures that ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous women in decision-making processes at all levels and in all areas, and to eliminate barriers to their participation in political, economic, social and cultural life⁷.

5. We recommend the formulation of policies for the economic empowerment of indigenous women, bearing their traditional knowledge in mind and improving their Access to resources in equal condition, including allocation of specific Budget for Indigenous women.

6. We urge to consider all of the rights of indigenous peoples in the elaboration of the post 2015 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals⁸.

7. We recommend the agencies created by virtue of international human rights treaties, specially The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to examine the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within the frame of their respective mandates. We encourage Member States to include, where appropriate, information on the situation of Indigenous women, including measures adopted to attain the goals of the Declaration, in the reports that they present to those agencies and in the universal periodic review process⁹.

Further information:

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