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Addressee: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ILO, UNDP, DESA
Full Text
The Forum underlines the importance of technical cooperation and capacity-building programmes regarding and involving indigenous women, and in that respect recommends that such programmes conducted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ILO, UNDP, among others, include projects regarding and involving indigenous women.
Responses
These activities are currently ongoing in DESA, ILO and UNDP. Please see each addressee for details.
The Division for Advancement of Women in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs carried out a review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action at the Forty Ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women from 28 February to 11 March 2005. The Division, in collaboration with the regional commissions, prepared a questionnaire to be used to compile information from Governments on major achievements and obstacles in implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly. Part two of the questionnaire requested Governments to include information on actions implemented to address the situation of indigenous women.
As a result 24 Governments provided information on indigenous women, specifically on the Government's measures, actions and policies aimed at improving the status of indigenous women and on the obstacles and challenges with respect to eliminating discrimination against indigenous women and overcoming their social and economic exclusion. The report of the Secretary General submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-ninth session contains a section summarizing these efforts.
The Division for the Advancement of Women participates in, and contributes to, the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality Task Force on Indigenous Women. The Division contributed to an inventory of mandates, overview of programmes/activities focusing on indigenous women that have been carried out, and a strategy and workplan to mainstream indigenous women's issues in the work of the United Nations.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women continues to review the situation of indigenous women in reporting States in a systematic manner. At its most recent session (January 2005), the Committee paid particular attention to the situation of indigenous women in Paraguay. The results of the third session of the Permanent Forum were made available to Committee members.
The ILO approach is to ensure that gender concerns are integrated at every stage in the project cycle. ILO's Project to Promote ILO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (PRO-169 Project) has identified capacity building and training, amongst its priorities. It also addresses indigenous women in its Interregional Programme to Support the Self-Reliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples through Cooperatives and Self-Help Organizations (INDISCO).
The ILO has a specific reporting role on the target 4, indicator 11 of MDG Goal 3, concerning the share of women in wage employment and in the non-agricultural sector.
UNDP is currently implementing a Regional Initiative on Strengthening Policy Dialogue on Indigenous, Highland and Tribal Peoples' Rights and Development at a cost of US$2 million. The project aims to enhance inter-country sharing of experiences on priority issues, particularly with regard to reducing the incidence of poverty among indigenous peoples. It aims to build capacity among all stakeholders, strengthen information networks and knowledge management systems, particularly among indigenous peoples, to support their full and effective participation in policy dialogue at all levels. The regional initiative also pays particular attention to the concerns and needs of indigenous women, especially in the area of indigenous knowledge and sustainable resources management.
Aside from a major project on indigenous women's rights in the Andean Region that lasted for nearly five years, the majority of UNIFEM's work with indigenous women until this point has been through small scale technical cooperation and small capacity building programmes. Though there are several small projects that were implemented recently and a few that are curently in progress, this activity is one that will continue and will be implemented gradually and consistently over the course of the next five years as sustainable capacity building programmes are expanded upon.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 3 (2004)
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