On March 15th, 2019 the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI), along the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and MADRE, co-sponsored the first global consultation on a CEDAW General Recommendation on the rights of indigenous women. The meeting was convened by the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) and attended by indigenous activist women from different regions, academics and allies of the indigenous women’s movement, including CEDAW Committee member Gladys Acosta. Among other presenters, WHRI partner Sara Mux Mux (Colectivo Ixpop) spoke on the origin and journey of this initiative that started years ago in Guatemala, and the current campaign that indigenous women launched to ensure their particular experiences and the individual and collective dimensions of their human rights are integrated in this recommendation. You can find out more about this initiative, as well as the involvement of the members of Colectivo Ixpop, on our website.
While the CEDAW Committee has not officially announced it will draft a General Recommendation on Indigenous Women, it is likely this will happen in 2020. This first global meeting was key to trigger the consultation process in the different regions of the world and to set the dialogue parameters in terms of thematic coverage and representation.
This summer, the WHRI is partnering together with the Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales in Quito to offer an intensive women’s human rights capacity building program. As part of that program, tuition scholarships are available for indigenous women to participate, to help build capacity for more women to engage with this initiative. A regional consultation on the CEDAW General Recommendation on the rights of Indigenous Women will be conducted in Quito upon completion of the program, with CEDAW expert member Gladys Acosta and Alda Facio, expert member of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice.
For more information, contact WHRI Latin America Regional Director Anya Victoria at anya@learnwhr.org.