From Our Territories to the UN: Indigenous Women’s Advocacy at CSW69

Introduction

Since the 1995 Beijing Declaration, Indigenous Women have steadfastly defended our rights. We confront colonization, racism, and patriarchy to ensure our voices are heard and respected. At the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), we reaffirmed our struggle for equality, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Our leadership has been pivotal in eradicating violence, protecting our territories, and preserving our cultures. However, we remain excluded from decision-making spaces, limiting our influence on public policies. Therefore, we participate in CSW69 with concrete actions.

Advocacy Spaces: Our Words in Action

During CSW69, we developed a Political Declaration to present our main demands to Member States. This declaration proposes public policies that consider:

• Visibility and Knowledge: To recognize our knowledge systems and ensure statistical information reflects our realities. Visibility is justice.
  
• Freedom from Violence: We demand effective policies to eradicate all forms of violence against Indigenous Women and ensure our safety and dignity.
  
• Territorial Protection: We demand respect for our lands and sacred spaces, and an end to extractivism and militarization that threaten our lives.
  
• Climate Change and Biodiversity: We call for recognition of our key role in environmental protection.
  
• Autonomy and Leadership: We demand direct funding and participation in decision-making to transform our realities.
  

These demands were strengthened in various spaces of encounter, dialogue, and political articulation that we built during CSW69. Below, we share some of the most significant events that marked our collective participation:

1. Indigenous Women's Coordination Meeting

Organized by FIMI, this space allowed us to listen to each other and coordinate our advocacy for Individual and Collective Rights. We reaffirmed the urgency of ensuring our participation in decisions that affect our lives. Sixty Indigenous Women from Africa, North America, the Arctic, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean gathered.

Challenges in Rights Implementation:

• General Recommendation 39: We highlighted the need to implement this recommendation from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, recognizing the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls.
  
• Poverty and Identity: Poverty is not our condition but the result of territorial dispossession and structural violence. To eradicate it, our knowledge and practices must be recognized.
  
• Access to Funding: We request direct funding without intermediaries, with the freedom to implement culturally relevant projects.
  
• Decision-Making: Our full and effective participation must be guaranteed from the local to the global level.
  

As part of this meeting, we held the discussion panel "30 Years Since Beijing: Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Women Worldwide," moderated by Rosalee González, with the participation of leaders from various regions. We shared strategies, learnings, and challenges from each territory.

• Asia: Pratima Gurung (Nepal) advocated for the inclusion of Indigenous Women with disabilities in global mechanisms, stating, “We are changing the narrative: we not only denounce crises but also bring solutions.”
  
• Asia: Eleanor Dictaan-Bang-oa (Philippines) emphasized how local work has enabled influence in international spaces.
  
• Africa: Mariam Bouraïma (Benin) spoke about the strength of community organization among Fulani women: “Today, women are trained, aware, and unafraid.”
  
• Pacific: Carolyne Kitione (Fiji) shared how, despite cultural and linguistic barriers, they have managed to position their voices in multilateral forums: “We build bridges despite political walls.”
  
• Mesoamerica: Sonia Gutiérrez (Guatemala), the only Indigenous Woman in a Congress of 160 members, remarked: “We are leaving a mark, opening paths, and creating institutional structures for those who come after.”
  

This panel was a space for deep political and spiritual exchange, reaffirming the diversity of our struggles and the collective strength that drives us to transform systems that have historically excluded us.

2. Voices of Indigenous Women on Violence and Climate Justice

Continuing reflections on rights and territories, this side event—organized by AIPP, IWGIA, and PEREMPUAN AMAN—highlighted the intersection between the climate crisis and the violence Indigenous Women face. Participants agreed on the need for urgent actions to protect defenders and transform extractivist models that threaten our lives.

• Relationship between Violence and Climate Crisis: Environmental degradation, extractivism, and militarization of Indigenous territories generate gender-based violence, forced displacements, and loss of rights.
  
• Indigenous Women on the Frontlines: We are the main defenders of our territories, but face criminalization, repression, and state violence.
  
• Impact of 'Green' Projects: Many environmental initiatives exclude Indigenous communities and replicate extractivist models without consultation or consent.
  
• Lack of Effective Policies: Despite international commitments, environmental and gender laws do not effectively protect Indigenous Women.
  
• Demands: We demand recognition of Indigenous knowledge in the climate struggle, effective protection for defenders, direct funding, and respect for free, prior, and informed consent.
  

3. Indigenous Women and Youth 30 Years After Beijing – ECMIA

From a continental perspective, the Continental Liaison for Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA), along with CHIRAPAQ, CONAMI, and the Government of Mexico, convened us to review progress since the 1995 Beijing Declaration. This space was vital for collective reflection on persistent challenges and strategies to strengthen our political participation at the global level.

• Recognition and Political Representation: Despite progress, Indigenous Women remain invisible in power spaces. The need to guarantee their participation in public policies was emphasized.
  
• Structural Violence and Racism: Ongoing discrimination, gender-based and institutional violence were denounced.
  
• Education and Language: Concern was raised about the loss of Indigenous languages, and the need to strengthen intercultural education.
  
• Climate Justice and Territorial Defense: Our role in environmental protection and the right to free, prior, and informed consent were reaffirmed.
  
• Call to Action: Demands included increased participation, policies protecting collective rights, and direct funding.
  

Indigenous youth also raised their voices, demanding the right to decide about their present and future, and to access safe spaces where they can exercise political leadership.

4. Collective Care and Feminist Resilience in Times of Polycrisis – LFS

In a context of multiple crises, we also reflected on how to care for one another. The Leading From the South (LFS) consortium organized an intimate gathering with partner organizations titled “Protecting Feminist Activism in Times of Polycrisis.” It was a powerful moment to share experiences around wellbeing, security, and resilience, recognizing collective care as a political tool and sustainability strategy.

Since 2021, LFS has strengthened this approach in collaboration with the Fenomenal Fund, promoting transformative practices from movements across the Global South. At CSW69, we wove networks of solidarity to confront the impacts of democratic backsliding and anti-rights attacks together.

5. Indigenous Women Breaking Paradigms: 25 Years of FIMI's Global Advocacy

To close with strength and hope, we celebrated a commemorative event marking 25 years of FIMI. It was a space to look back with pride and project the future with determination. We recalled how FIMI has been a pillar in building global agendas led by Indigenous Women.

• Achievements: Strengthened leadership, global articulation mechanisms, and international visibility.
  
• Challenges: Structural barriers, gender-based violence, and extractivist threats to our territories persist.
  
• Forward Vision: The commitment was renewed to increase participation in decision-making spaces, strengthen our own institutions, and position Indigenous knowledge as key in climate action.
  

Conclusion: We Continue Walking with the Strength of Our Roots

CSW69 represents a milestone in our collective struggle for justice and the recognition of our rights. From our territories to global decision-making spaces, we will continue demanding inclusive policies, protecting our lands, and strengthening our autonomy. With the collective power of Indigenous Women, we weave together the path toward our rights.