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"BRINGING INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES TO THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA: AN
INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
International Indigenous Women's Forum Declaration
We, the women of the International Indigenous Women's Forum, have come
together in New York on February 26 and 27 and March 12, 2005, for a
three-day conference beginning just prior to the 49th Session of the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, in which we will take
part. Our purpose in gathering is to strengthen our skills, strategies
and advocacy work on behalf of ourselves, our Peoples, our communities
and Women's human rights globally.
We note that there have been qualitative and quantitative advances, but
today, 10 years after the Fourth UN World Conference on Women in
Beijing; half-way through the decade devoted to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, Indigenous Women continue to face a crisis
stemming from: unbridled and escalating militarism, gender-based
violence which includes rape and trafficking of women within our own
communities and as a tactic of armed conflicts; and macro-economic
policies that disregard collective rights and deny us our livelihoods
and basic services, including safe potable water, health care and
culturally appropriate education and institutions.
We call on our governments to reaffirm and fully implement the Beijing
Platform for Action (BPfA) on the occasion of the Ten-Year Review and
Appraisal of implementation of the BPfA and to commit to stronger action
to advance Indigenous Women's human rights at this critical juncture.
We note with disappointment that the process of full recognition of
Indigenous Peoples rights has taken a slow process; we urge governments
to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
Indigenous Peoples Rights are Indigenous Women Rights
We affirm that Indigenous Peoples have fought for centuries against
genocide, displacement, militarization, colonization and forced
assimilation, preserving our cultures, identities, languages and ways of
life as distinct Peoples.
We recognize that the colonial and neoliberal policies directed at
Indigenous Peoples has left Indigenous Communities among the poorest in
the world, alienated from political decision-making processes,
disenfranchised by national governments, and subjected to grave and
pervasive human rights violations. In addition, the protection and
promotion of individual human rights remains key for Indigenous Women,
including the right and fundamental freedom to live free from violence.
We maintain that the advancement of Indigenous Women's human rights is
inextricably linked to the struggle to protect, respect and fulfill both
the rights of our Peoples as a whole and our rights as women within our
communities and at the national and international level. We recommend,
in keeping with the third report of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues, that Indigenous Women's issues be mainstreamed throughout the
United Nations system.
We note that impoverishment, gender, ethnical and racial discrimination
causes an increase in Indigenous Women's risks of becoming ill and
being denied medical treatment. We call on governments to meet their
obligations to ensure access to high quality, culturally appropriate
health services, including full-spectrum, reproductive and sexual health
services.
We call on governments to undertake a concerted global response to the
AIDS pandemic and to pursue strategies for prevention and universal
treatment of diseases disproportionately impacting marginalized
communities.
We affirm the centrality of individual and collective rights, including
sovereignty and self-determination, to the fulfillment of Indigenous
Peoples' human rights and the preservation of Indigenous Peoples'
natural resources and territories.
We affirm the adoption of a resolution by the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights for a second Decade of Indigenous Peoples. In order to
ensure that adequate attention is paid to Indigenous Women's human
rights, we recommend that in the implementation of the resolution there
should be a special focus on Indigenous Women.
Sustainable Development
We affirm that Indigenous Peoples are united by our lands, natural
resources, and traditional knowledge which are the foundations of
Indigenous Wealth, Strength, Identity, and Culture.
We recognize that, traditionally, Indigenous Women have played an
integral role in preserving our cultural heritages, are important
producers of food in our communities and the custodians of biodiversity
for many of the world's ecosystems. We are practitioners of medicine,
pharmacology, botany, nutrition, and the keepers of agricultural
technology that sustains the polycultures critical to maintaining
biodiversity. Moreover, Indigenous Women are the custodians and have the
right to be titleholders to land.
We affirm that, in addition to being the stewards of our lands,
environmental, technical, scientific, and custodian of our cultural and
spiritual knowledge, Indigenous Women are the primary transmitters of
this knowledge to younger generations.
We therefore affirm that Indigenous Women are knowledgeable about the
struggle against poverty in our communities and creating strategies for
sustainable development in our communities and beyond.
We therefore recommend that Indigenous Women's expertise be reflected in
all national and international development strategies and that
Indigenous Women, in consultation with their communities and
organizations, be part of the formulation and decision-making processes
of sustainable development initiatives.
Collective Rights, Indigenous Resources and Economic Justice
We recallthat Indigenous Peoples extensive knowledge of the plants and
animals on our lands, has historically been developed, shared and used
collectively, and has been systematically robbed most recently via
international trade rules like the World Trade Organization's TRIPS
(Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), which fail to
recognize collective intellectual property rights and facilitate the
piracy of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge by individuals and corporations.
We recognize that a wasteful and short-sighted pursuit of profit at the
expense of nature has contributed to global climate change, an issue
which literally threatens the Earth, with particular implications for
Indigenous Communities. We note that deforestation, desertification,
flooding, melting of sea ice, land erosion, pollution, and the toxic
contamination of lands and waters are robbing Indigenous Peoples of our
way of life, identity and wealth.
The Millennium Development Goals
We recognize the importance of the MDGs as a tool for advancing
strategies for sustainable development and women's human rights. We
call on all governments to uphold their commitments to realizing these
goals, with an emphasis on Indigenous Women's full participation.
We endorse the indicator for Goals 1 and 3 ("the elimination of gender
disparity in primary and secondary school education"). However, we
recall that the Western paradigm of schooling has impoverished
Indigenous Peoples culturally, spiritually and economically. We
therefore hold that the needs of our Peoples be addressed in educational
policies for meeting this goal.
We further contendthat Goal 3 (gender equality) cannot be met with a
singular focus on girls' education. We echo the demands of our sisters
throughout the global women's movement for an expansion of Goal 3 to
address: reproductive and sexual health and rights, violence against
women, women's labor and property rights, and the reduction of women's
work burden by guaranteeing access to resources such as technology,
sanitation, water, housing, electricity and transportation.
International Indigenous Women's Forum Declaration, New York, 27 of
February, 2005
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