Indigenous Peoples’ Forum

For far too long the hopes and aspirations of indigenous peoples have been ignored; their lands have been taken; their cultures denigrated or directly attacked; their languages and customs suppressed; their wisdom and traditional knowledge overlooked; and their sustainable ways of developing natural resources dismissed. Some have even faced the threat of extinction. But the past three decades have witnessed a sea-change in global attitudes. And the last 10 years — the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People — have been marked by many striking achievements for indigenous peoples at the United Nations, not least of which is the creation of this Forum. Its creation marked the climax of that dramatic shift in attitudes. It challenges us to ensure that the rights of one of humanity's most marginalized groups are not only heard and debated, but protected and upheld.

— Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, 2004

        The Third Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues concluded with a series of recommendations for the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on education, culture, human rights, environment, development and health. The forum, with a special focus on indigenous women, took place at the United Nations in New York from 10 to 21 May 2004, attracting more than 1,500 participants from more than 500 indigenous groups worldwide.
        Representatives from indigenous groups, UN agencies and member states emphasized a greater respect for indigenous lands, resources, languages and cultures, the protection and the preservation of biological diversity and the promotion of an educational system incorporating indigenous knowledge. In view of continued human rights abuses being committed against indigenous peoples, forum members also reiterated the need to adopt the draft declaration on rights of indigenous peoples which is still under debate.(See UN press release.)
        It was widely acknowledged that although indigenous women made unique contributions to the family, community and international agenda, they continued to face multiple forms of discrimination based on gender and race/ethnicity. Due to armed conflict in their territories, many indigenous women also faced systematic human rights violations committed by foreign armies and in their own societies. The forum encouraged relevant United Nations bodies to integrate the human rights of indigenous women into their programmes and policies, including through compiling and integrating disaggregated data on indigenous women's issues in their annual reports. It also made a recommendation on indigenous women to make sure the process started at the Forum moves forward.
        The next session of the Forum will be held from 9 to 20 May 2005, with the special theme of the "Millennium Development Goals and Indigenous Peoples."
 

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UNIFEM and Gender Budgets –
Tracking Gender Equality

Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), recognized worldwide as a gender mainstreaming strategy, directs attention to economic policy by focusing on national budgets. Budgetary policies in general tend to appear gender-neutral, as taxes, revenues and expenditures are not considered engendered concepts. However, because women and men lead different economic lives — facing different constraints, assuming different social responsibilities and consequently making different choices — women react to budgets differently than men. Unless budgets are responsive to the needs of women and take into account their contributions to economies, resources may not be adequately directed to the achievement of equality and equity. [1]
        At a recent meeting in New York, UNIFEM brought together several national and regional partners working on GRB to share, validate and build on the findings of a review of UNIFEM's Gender Budgets Programme, which was initiated in 2001 in partnership with the Belgian government. [2]
        Drawing from the wide range of experiences of participants, discussions centred around the purpose and objectives of various gender budget initiatives, strategic approaches to take, and sustainability, capacity building and knowledge development issues. Participants pointed to the successful ownership of GRB initiatives at the national level and the valuable contributions and knowledge provided by women's groups, civil society, and government experts. The review illustrated a need to build stronger alliances between gender budgets groups and pro-poor groups. It highlighted regional GRB networks that have emerged through UNIFEM's programme in Latin America, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa and South Asia. These networks have proven to be a valuable means to transfer learning, share resources and expertise, and set regional agendas and advocacy targets to promote GRB.
        Over the last few years, UNIFEM's work on GRB has become a flagship approach for tracking whether commitments made to gender equality have translated into action through conducive economic policies and budget allocations. In this context, GRB is also proving to be an effective tool for addressing feminized poverty and gender gaps. In the municipality of Cuenca, Ecuador, for example, successful gender budget exercises have led to the adoption of an Equal Opportunities Plan that contains legislation and institutional mechanisms to strengthen the system of social, legal and health services for women and deal effectively with gender-based violence. Doris Solis Carrion, former Vice-Mayor of Cuenca and now Minister of Tourism, described the gender budget exercises as an 'eye-opener.' "It became obvious that there was a need to integrate gender aspects in all areas of Cuenca's public policy. We factored those aspirations into the city's budget — for 2003, the allocations to promote gender equality were 15 times higher than they were in 2001. We're building a more democratic society that could serve as an example for other regions in Ecuador."
        The future of UNIFEM's programming on GRB will see the development of tracking systems and tools to measure and increase poor women's access to resources in selected sectors. The programme will also continue to work with key stakeholders at grassroots and national levels to ensure effective mobilization and monitoring of budget responsiveness to gender equality objectives, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
        For more information on UNIFEM's GRB programmes contact Nisreen.alami@undp.org, or visit the programme Web site.

 
Notes:
1. Banerjee, Nirmala, "What is Gender Budgeting — Public Policies from Women's Perspective in the Indian Context," UNIFEM.
2. UNIFEM partners included Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in Uganda, Fundar in Mexico, Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) in Tanzania, National Institute for Public Finance and Policy and Sachetena in India, and Centre for Democracy and Development in Nigeria. Representatives from UNDP, UNCDF, UNICEF, the World Bank, and bilateral donors and experts also participated.

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UNIFEM Around the World

Liberian Women Demand Full Participation in Country's Reconstruction. At a National Women's Conference on peace and socioeconomic recovery convened on Liberia's Unification Day on 14 May 2004, women made a strong call for full participation in rebuilding their country. Women make up 51 per cent of Liberia's population and 75 per cent of the agricultural work force. They remain significantly underrepresented, however, in the political and socioeconomic arenas. As a result of more than two decades of violent conflict, when women and children were main targets of abuse, many now live in desperate conditions in refugee and internally displaced camps.
        UNIFEM's Executive Director, Noeleen Heyzer, who gave the keynote address at the conference, emphasized the centrality of women's participation and leadership in all phases of the country's recovery, including processes of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation. She described the conference as a celebration of the courage of Liberia's women, of their resilience and capacity for leadership amidst the trauma and devastation of conflict. "The women of Liberia know the cost of conflict, of failed states and ruined economies. ... Despite these experiences they have taken responsibility for sustaining their families and communities. ... This conference is a statement by the women of this country of their right to be partners in charting Liberia's transition process," she said. Read the full press release on Ms Heyzer's remarks.

UNIFEM Joins UN Assessment Mission to Haiti. UNIFEM's Regional Peace and Security Adviser and a gender adviser from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) participated in the UN assessment mission to Haiti to prepare recommendations for the upcoming peacekeeping operations in the country. While in Haiti, the team met with local women's organizations in order to reflect their concerns and priorities. The women expressed four main areas of concern. First, levels of gender-based violence, already high before the widespread unrest of the past year, have been exacerbated by pervasive insecurity and small arms proliferation. Second, there is a need for greater economic security and justice for women, with an emphasis on humanitarian assistance and job creation. Third, increased support and resources for women's organizations to consolidate peace and participate in the peace process. Finally, Haitian women emphasized the importance of adequate female representation in all political bodies in order to ensure good governance.
        The mandate of the recently established UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) recognizes the needs and priorities of women across several sectors. Security Council resolution 1542, which establishes MINUSTAH for deployment in June 2004, recalls resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and calls for protection of women and girls from violence and exploitation as well as their inclusion in efforts aimed at Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), and in governance structures.
        More information on Haitian women and UNIFEM and the UN in Haiti can be found on UNIFEM's Gender Profile on Haiti at WomenWarPeace.org

Queen Noor of Jordan Visits Tajikistan. Jordan's Queen Noor paid a visit to Tajikistan to raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities facing rural women in the country's ongoing land reform process and its economic transition. The Queen's visit was organized by UNDP and UNIFEM, whose efforts in Tajikistan are aimed at securing women's rights to land and to promote a better environment for women-owned businesses as well as NGOs. Amendments to the State Program on Provision of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Men and Women, signed by the President, now deal specifically with rural women's access to land and credits and commit the government to ensure equal access to economic resources and to improve the economic situation of rural women. For more information, please contact Irina Chumachenko, irina.chumachenko@undp.org

Mongolia Adopts Domestic Violence Bill. The Parliament of Mongolia unanimously adopted a Domestic Violence Bill on 13 May 2004. Women's groups in the country had lobbied for the Bill's passage since 1996; UNIFEM and other UN bodies provided training and support for the groups to effectively influence the policy process. The Mongolian Government announced the passage of the Bill on the occasion of International Family Day, taking the opportunity also to officially open the first Family Learning Centre in Ulaanbaatar. UNIFEM has provided the centre with publications and public information on family, gender and domestic violence legislation. For more information, please contact the UNIFEM Office in Mongolia, unifem.mn@undp.org

Measuring Gender Equality Through Statistics. Together with national partners, UNIFEM has started a series of workshops in Egypt, Jordan and Syria for statistics users and producers from local departments, ministries and NGOs. The workshops aim at building the capacity of participants to produce gender statistics and analyze statistics from a gender perspective. A key goal is also to raise awareness of the importance of producing and disseminating gender-sensitive indicators and statistical information to influence planning and decision-making processes. For further information please contact Shirin Shukri, shirin@unifem.org.jo

Gender Budgets Initiatives to Begin in CEE/CIS Region. UNIFEM has begun planning gender budget initiatives in Central Europe and the CIS region. A meeting in May, organized in partnership with the Network of East West Women/Polska, identified experts to lead strategic gender budget initiatives in 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Regional cooperation and networking to exchange information and best practices will be developed and encouraged through a regional Gender Budgets Working Group.

Basque Government Sponsors Young Volunteers for UNIFEM. The Basque government sponsors eight young volunteers to work with UNIFEM in Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, the Southern Cone region, Mexico and the Central America region. The young volunteers are to provide assistance to UNIFEM activities, as well as learn about UNIFEM's work around promoting women's human rights in the region. For more information, please contact Sofia Zaragocin, sofia.zaragocin@undp.org

UNIFEM Partners with New York Girl Scouts. UNIFEM and the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York have partnered to create a new Global Citizens patch that aims to teach girls about the roles and challenges facing women around the world. In order to earn the patch, girls aged 4–17 have to complete a series of activities such as learning about the lives of people from other countries, holding mock United Nations meetings, interviewing immigrants and diplomats, studying a conflict to see what challenges countries face in making peace with one another, and connecting with other groups that belong to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

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Other News

New Web Page for Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has created a new webpage for the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. The page includes information on key issues, countries visited by the Special Rapporteur, international standards documentation, etc. Visit the Web page.

NGOs Prepare for 4th Anniversary of Resolution 1325. The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security is in the early stages of planning an alternative or shadow report, entitled "Four Years On," meant to complement the UN report and highlight NGO activity on Resolution 1325, and to provide a critical analysis of UN and governmental work to implement Resolution 1325 to date. An NGO questionnaire is currently in production, and will be featured on PeaceWomen.org. PeaceWomen has begun developing a Web page on 4th Anniversary of 1325 happenings, where all information related to the 4th anniversary and the NGO alternative report will be posted.
        The presidential statement (PRST/2002/32) marking the second anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325 "requested the Secretary-General to prepare a follow-up report on the full implementation of resolution 1325 to be presented to the Security Council in October 2004." In preparation for compiling the Secretary-General's report, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI) sent a Note Verbale to all UN Member States and a Questionnaire to all UN entities requesting information related to their work and reflections on Resolution 1325 since it was adopted in 2000. The questionnaire aims to assess progress in implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 since its adoption in 31 October 2000.

WLP Launches New Global Directory of Women Leaders. The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP) has launched a new online Directory of Women Leaders from the Global South. Designed to be used as a resource and networking tool, the directory features biographical and professional profiles of women activists, policy-makers, scholars, and NGO leaders from the Global South who have devoted their lives to supporting the advancement and empowerment of women. The Directory is an ongoing project to increase the visibility of women leaders and to connect individuals, organizations, and networks working on issues of women's human rights, democracy and civil society, peace and conflict resolution, women and ICTs, and international development.

1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 Project. Since 1901, 80 men, 20 organizations and 11 women have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Millions of women work day in day out to promote peace. They care for survivors, help with reconstruction and initiate a new culture of peace. To represent these millions, this project aims to lobby so that in the year 2005 a thousand women shall collectively receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in pursuit of peace. People from all countries and in all parts of the world are being asked to submit nominations for women whom they deem "worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize," based on their work and contributions in their particular sphere of activity. This work can take many forms and focuses — environmental protection, poverty eradication, providing healthcare services, human rights, etc. The campaign is meant to acknowledge the commitment, dedication and hard work of women throughout the world, since too often this work is ignored and overlooked. This initiative, started by Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a Swiss Parliamentarian and member of the Council of Europe, has gained international support and recognition and involves partners all over the world. Nomination forms are available on their Web site.

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