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Indigenous
women meet in New York New
York, February 27, 2005. FIRE/Women’s Media Pool The
International Indigenous Women’s Forum was held on February 26 and 27,
just prior to the 49th Session of the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women which takes off tomorrow here in New
York. “Our purpose in gathering is to strengthen our skills,
strategies and advocacy work on behalf of ourselves, our Peoples and
women’s human rights globally” reads their Final Declaration to be
taken to the official United Nations appraisal of the 10 year
implementation of the Platform for Action of the IV World Conference on
Women in Beijing, China, 1995. The
women expect 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 women’s human
rights at this critical juncture.” One
of the conveners of the event was Nicaraguan Miskito, Monica Aleman,
also member of MADRE, an international women’s human rights
organization told Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) that the
indigenous women “want the United Nations to take the further step now,
that they always postpone ‘for some other meeting’ whenever we
demand the implementation of our rights and the recognition of our role
in women’s conferences. They always want to send the issues to some
other event related to indigenous people, but the time is now. We are
women and we want to be recognized now.” Other conveners were
Mirna Cunningham from Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast, Tarcila Rivera from
Peru and Lucy Mulenki, a Massai form Kenya. MADRE is sponsoring the
event. The
81 participants met at the Church Center building across the UN
headquarters, having arrived from First
among the critical issues in today’s context for these women is the
fact that during this decade “Indigenous women face a crisis stemming
from: unbridled and escalating militarism by nation-states under the
rubric of the “war on terror”; gender-based violence (including rape
and trafficking in women) as a tactic of armed conflicts and within our
own communities; and macro-economic policies that disregard collective
rights and deny us basic services, including potable water, health care
and culturally appropriate education.” The participants also acknowledge their contribution in the resistance to violations of their rights, expressed in the fact that “Indigenous Peoples have fought for centuries against genocide, displacement, colonization and forced assimilation, preserving our cultures and identities as distinct Peoples” but also recognize “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. We affirm that Indigenous women have been at the forefront of the international Indigenous movement. We reaffirm that gender equality and increased political participation of Indigenous women are essential aspects of Indigenous Peoples' human rights.” The women also affirmed the centrality of Indigenous People’s collective rights, including sovereignty and self-determination, to the fulfillment of Indigenous Peoples' human rights and the preservation of Indigenous Peoples’ natural resources, and urged governments to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples currently working its way up through the United Nations system to the General Assembly, since it was first drafted during the UN Indigenous People’s Decade 1995-2004. For a copy of the full Declaration, look for the link at www.womensmediapool.org/notas/declaration Contacte a MADRE en www.madre.org
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