Introduction

The AIWN was instrumental in convening the indigenous women’s tent in Beijing and the drafting of the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women (BDIW). This Declaration clarifies where the indigenous women’s movement is coming from with an overarching demand for “all governments and international nongovernmental and governmental organizations to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and enshrine the historical, political, social, cultural, economic and religious rights of indigenous peoples in their constitutions and legal systems”. Most of the points raised in the BDIW were adopted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with 44 direct references to indigenous women.

This call   resonated 18 years after. During the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, in 20103 in Lima, Peru, indigenous women declared to ““assert our right to self-determination, which encompasses the direct, full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples; including the vital role of Indigenous women in all matters related to our human rights, political status, and well- being. We endorse the principle: “Nothing about us, without us", and further declare "Everything about us, with us.” They also reiterated the SDGs and all initiatives for development should be rights-based, non-discriminatory, and responsive to culture.

While progress have been and are being reported, the experiences of indigenous women reflects how these is not being felt on the ground. The side event will showcase   how they are struggling and responding to the challenges to their visions of empowerment and development amidst prevailing conditions of structural discrimination, poverty and conflict. These narratives are found in a recently published book entitled “UNHEARD and UNSEEN:  Indigenous Women’s Path to Empowerment and Sustainable Development” – an initiative by the AIWN to advance the voices and visibility of indigenous women.

Specifically, the side-event will:

1. Provide highlights of the latest initiative by indigenous women in Asia to document their stories of struggles and success in relation to peace, justice and strong institutions;
2. Advance recommendations on effective inclusion of indigenous women in realizing SDG 16 in particular and its intersectionalities with the SDGs in general.

Tentative Program on April 27, Tuesday (exact time to be announced):

1.    Preliminaries (5 minutes)

2.    Rationale (10 minutes)

3.    Panel 1: Thematic presentations (30 minutes or 5 minutes each speaker)

               a)   Conflict transformation  

               b)   Participation  

               c)    Food security, Land and resources

               d)    Identities, Discrimination and ViolenceQ&A

 Q and A

4. Panel 2: Recommendations (25 minutes); 3-5 minutes each speaker

                a) South Asia

                b) South East Asia

                c) Mekong

Q&A

5. Responses:

               a) UNPFII

               b) UN Women

6. Wrap-up

Date: 15 to 26 March 2021

Venue: UN Headquarters, New York, US

Themes:

Priority theme: Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;

Review theme: Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development (agreed conclusions of the sixtieth session)

Learn more at https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw65-2021 

Dear Friends,

The Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) for Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), will be conducting a series of webinars to orient indigenous representatives on the objectives, mandate, history, and current key technical and strategic issues relevant for indigenous peoples that are under negotiation or needing more effective implementation in the CBD, SDGs, and UNFCCC.

The year 2020 presents key advocacy opportunities within several international processes that Indigenous Peoples are involved in. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is in the middle of a preparatory process to develop the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, while the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is struggling to generate resources to operationalize the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), and undergoing difficult negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in relation to the inclusion of human rights due diligence in the Rule Book, among others. For the SDGs, there is an urgent need for countries to step up their implementation with the inclusion of indigenous peoples as no country is on track to achieve the SDGs. Further, policy coherence and the integration of the human rights obligations and commitment of states, among others, are necessary to meet the pledge of ”leaving no one behind.”

The orientation webinars will be conducted for each of the processes - CBD, Climate Change, and the SDGs - on September 8-11, 2020. It will be in different time zones to reach indigenous peoples in all the regions. Likewise, interpretation in Spanish, French, and Russian will be provided.

For those interested to participate in the orientation webinars on the SDGs, CBD, and Climate Change, please click on the registration link of the specific process and timezone below.

On behalf of the Steering Committee,

Joan Carling

IPMG Co-convenor

SCHEDULE:

September 8, 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM UTC +8, for Africa and Arctic (with French interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HPqe2x0ZRuy1fvcmDfrxvw

September 9, 4 PM - 6:30 PM UTC +8, for Asia and Russia (with Russian interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AkFx3H7wQLmIiwrCazyczw

September 10, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC +8, for Pacific

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K2v6gVPlSe6_BfyJZCxFnQ

September 11, 12MN - 2:30 AM UTC + 8, for Latin America and North America (with Spanish interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Eny8umlASSuzUjSrq-A23A

To check your time zone, click here

SCHEDULE:

September 8, 12MN - 2:30 AM UTC +8, for Latin America and North America (with Spanish interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NQd0u-r5S-2nUoAKyH021Q

September 9, 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM UTC +8, for Pacific

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qS-m7rcySNuDhicQpZzuzw

September 10, 4 PM - 6:30 PM UTC +8, for Asia and Russia (with Russian interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fm4D_5x9RlCRKsepSgWiqQ

September 11, 5:00 - 7:30 PM UTC +8, for Africa and Arctic (with French interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YiJyXcaAQZ2AwTm1D0IWmA

To check your time zone, click here

SCHEDULE:

September 8, 4:00 - 6:30 PM UTC +8, for Asia and Russia (with Russian interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_O8fhXQJeR_GDRz6rng7t9w

September 9, 7:30 - 10:00 PM UTC +8, for Africa and Arctic (with French interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__4zokOZeSwa9aUY5VPiIKw

September 10, 12MN - 2:30 AM UTC +8, for Latin America and North America (with Spanish interpretation)

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AGWyCURcT2Or9_zWQKOeeA

September 11, 1:00 - 3:30 PM UTC +8, for Pacific

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZyuWGGDtREy5v5xd3mNOlw

To check your time zone, click here

Dates: 9 to 20 March 2020Themes

Venue: United Nations Headquarters in New York The main focus of the session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Check updates at https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw64-2020