(i) The Forum recalls and reiterates: a. Paragraph 18 of the Durban Declaration which requested States to adopt public policies and give impetus to programmes on behalf of and in concert with indigenous women and girls, with a view to promoting their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; to putting an end to their situation of disadvantage for reasons of gender and ethnicity; to dealing with urgent problems affecting them in regard to education, their physical and mental health, economic life and in the matter of violence against them, including domestic violence; and to eliminating the situation of aggravated discrimination suffered by indigenous women and girls on multiple grounds of racism and gender discrimination
Owing to the cross-cutting nature of gender equality, it is also critical that gender perspectives be fully integrated into the implementation and monitoring of all the other objectives associated with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs guarantee the participation of indigenous women during the 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in 2010.
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by Member States in 2015, the Permanent Forum has repeatedly highlighted the importance of ensuring the meaningful and full participation of indigenous peoples in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Unfortunately, the world is not on track to meet globally agreed targets. This has been particularly evident during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which existing inequities have been exacerbated, placing the survival of indigenous peoples at greater risk. During the pandemic, indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women and girls, have not only been left behind, but have been left even further behind.
The Permanent Forum welcomes efforts made by UN-Women, in the preparation of the first global report on indigenous women and girls, to highlight progress in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and prospects for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to indigenous women and girls, including in matters related to informal work, migration and working conditions. The Forum recommends that UN-Women continue this work in close cooperation with indigenous women’s organizations.
The accessibility of general recommendation No. 39 to Indigenous Peoples is crucial to ensure its effective implementation and impact on the ground. The Permanent Forum recommends its translation into Indigenous languages spoken by Indigenous Peoples in their States before the end of 2032.
The Permanent Forum further urges States to improve their collection of data on self-harm and suicide among indigenous children and youth, as well as on violence against indigenous women, boys and girls, to facilitate better understanding of the extent of the problem. States should commit to reducing the incidence of self-harm, violence and suicide among indigenous children and youth through the allocation of adequate resources to holistic prevention and support services, in partnership with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum reiterates previous recommendations that WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNFPA, as well as regional health organizations and Governments, fully incorporate a cultural perspective into health policies and programmes and reproductive health services aimed at providing indigenous women with quality health care, including emergency obstetric care, voluntary family planning and skilled attendance at birth. The roles of traditional midwives should be re-evaluated and expanded so that they may assist indigenous women during their reproductive health processes and act as cultural brokers between health systems and indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the particular concerns of African indigenous youth, who are striving against political, social and economic challenges, poverty, marginalization and a lack of capacity development and employment. The Permanent Forum calls upon, among others, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, to provide adequate capacity-building programmes and opportunities to enable African indigenous youth, women and persons with disabilities to engage meaningfully with States and other key development players, including by organizing and sponsoring attendance at training sessions, conferences and other forums on indigenous issues.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the under the auspices of a steering committee consisting of the Women's Refugee Commission, Equality Now, Equal Rights Trust, Tilburg University, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). The Forum therefore calls upon those Member States whose constitutional provisions and legislation require review, as a matter of urgency, to support this global campaign, consistent with the Declaration and the rights of indigenous women highlighted in articles 21 and 22. (Corrigendum. E/2014/43/Corr.1-E/C.19/2014/11/Corr.1)
Improve and increase indigenous women's economic and social conditions through: (a) expansion of employment opportunities; (b) Promotion of the professionalization of their traditional skills, arts and crafts; c) Access to resources, including microcredit, new technologies and agricultural input; (d) Support the regional meetings of indigenous women and organize training on international, regional and national mechanisms
The Permanent Forum welcomes the draft general recommendation on the rights of indigenous women and girls of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation, contained in the report on its twentieth session (E/2021/43, para. 32), that the general recommendation be adopted at the earliest opportunity. The Permanent Forum invites the Committee to share its plans for implementation of the general recommendation at the twenty-third session of the Permanent Forum, to be held in 2024.