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Addressee: Member States
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The Forum recommends that Governments integrate a gender framework that encompasses all areas of their work, including their agricultural and economic policies, and include in their policies actions that directly benefit indigenous women, through the following measures:
(a) Provide access for indigenous women to funding from public budgets;
(b) Create specific measures that enhance women’s participation in their own development processes;
(c) Create national policies that generate employment for indigenous women;
(d) Improve indigenous women’s access to education and the development of their skills, and reform education systems so that they allow women to take advantage of training and employment opportunities;
(e) Strengthen programmes in indigenous communities that ensure benefits for indigenous women.
Responses
The Government of Canada reports the following:
Since April 1999, the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Strategy has been helping aboriginal communities to strengthen their ability to compete in the Canadian job market. As part of the Government of Canada's response to the recommendations of the Royal Commision on Aboriginal eoples, the Strategy was given a five-year, $1.6 billion budget to help aboriginal communities and organizations take on the responsibility of developing and implementing their own employment and human resources programmes. The Strategy was extended until 31 March 2005. It is aimed at helping aboriginal Canadians to increase their self-sufficiency, build stronger communities, and develop long-term employment. The largest share of funding goes towards the creation of employment programmes and services. The direct involvement of aboriginal organizations and the emerging network of partnerships are among the Strategy's strongest hallmarks.
Specifically in regard to paragraph 57 of the report of the Permanent Forum, aboriginal women in Canada are guaranteed access to programmes provided by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. This access is also referenced explicitly in the agreements, which allow for the design and delivery of skills development and employment programmes by aboriginal organizations for aboriginal people, regardless of gender. Women have assumed access to all agreements.
The Government of Finland reports the following:
The Ministry of the Environment (Division of Sustainable Development, Department of Environmental Protection) has since 1996 had a partnership with the Sami Parliament Finland while preparing the Sustainable Development Program of the Sami (Approved 1998). The revision of the SD Program is underway as a cooperative activity between the Ministry of the Environment and the Sami Parliament.
(d) Sami women have equal opportunities and possibilities for education with the rest of the population.
The Government of Mexico reports the following:
The National Commission for the development of Indigenous Populations is running two programs which also involve training and teaching activities designed to make optimal use of the resources provided by the federal Government and promote ownership of productive processes by the indigenous women targeted by the programs. The first program is the Indigenous Women's Productive Organization Program with the goal to improve the living conditions and social status of indigenous women, strengthening their involvement as the promoters of their own development through the implementation of productive organization projects. The second program is the POPMI training program for indigenous women community outreach workers with the objectives to promote the training of human resources in the community; and include in the POPMI operational structure the training of indigenous human resources.
The objective the Regional Indigenous Funds Program is to promote the economic and social development of indigenous groups and communities, with due care for natural resources and their environment, their cultures and their rights, by strengthening the funds as financing agencies of a social nature, operated and managed by indigenous community organizations based on the principle of equity. The Commission is supporting the development of 240 mixed regional indigenous funds, incorporating organizations of indigenous producers of both genders and providing loans, technical assistance and marketing support. Of particular note in this area is the existence of 30 women's regional funds.
In addition there is a training project for the regional indigenous women's funds with an objective to establish a system of training in the short, medium and long term that will help to strengthen the regional funds and promote the consolidation of organizational and empowerment processes, by developing indigenous women leaders, training management teams and establishing networks at the local, regioanl, state and national levels. Currently regional funds assisted during this period are those in the states of Puebla, Guerrero, Mexico and Morelos and the Federal District.
The objective of the Sectoral Strengthening Project for Indigenous craftswomen is to strengthen the capacity of organized groups of indigenous craftswomen as an economic sector, to participate in economic and managerial activities with a view to increasing opportunities for the distribution, financing, management and marketing of their products at the local, regional, national and international levels through training, promotion and organizational assessment activities.
A meeting of indigenous women producers is also carried out with the objective to create a forum for reflection, dialogue and the exchange of indigenous women's experiences as producers in local economies with a view to promoting coordination institutional action.
The Government of Norway reports the following:
(c) Reindeer husbandry, an important industry for the indigenous population of Norway, is strongly male-dominated. A working group made up of Sami representatives and representatives from teh Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs published a report on 22 November 2004 on the situation of women in reindeer husbandry. The purpose of the proposed measures in this report is to develop a revitalised and better-targeted gender equality policy in reindeer husbandry, with a view to increasing the participation and influence of women.
(d) Sami women are well educated. Around 26 percent of women in the traditional Sami areas have a graduate or post-graduate degree
Final Report of UNPFII Session 3 (2004)
Area of Work
