Justice, peace, and security: Indigenous Women demand responses to impunity and violence in their territories
In the framework of CSW70, the side event organized by FIMI, IWGIA, AIPP, and NIWA brought together voices from different regions to place at the center the challenges Indigenous Women face in accessing justice in contexts of conflict, militarization, sexual violence, criminalization, and territorial dispossession.
The event opened with remarks by Lola García-Alix, from IWGIA, who introduced this space for dialogue on Indigenous Women, justice, peace, and security. She was followed by Norma Sactic, from AMIC, Guatemala, who led a brief ceremony to open the gathering through spiritual connection and to strengthen collective voice, thought, and coordinated work among networks and territories.
During the opening session, Laura Risanen, Secretary of State of Finland, stressed that rights risk remaining empty words if there is no real access to justice. She noted that although the Sámi people hold constitutional recognition in Finland, significant barriers remain, including the lack of services in their Indigenous languages and the persistence of gender-based violence. She also highlighted the importance of the final report submitted in December 2025 by the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which included more than 60 recommendations taken seriously by the Finnish government.
For her part, Leonor Zalabata, Ambassador of Colombia to the United Nations, affirmed that as long as impunity exists, there will be no justice, and without justice, peace will remain an empty promise. In her intervention, she emphasized that Indigenous Women have historically sustained collective life and recalled that, even within deeply patriarchal spaces such as the United Nations, it has been possible to advance key instruments such as CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 on the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls. At the same time, she warned that the Women, Peace and Security agenda must be brought into the territories, where Indigenous Women face sexual violence, criminalization, and ongoing threats.
Moderated by Professor Elsa Stamatopoulou, the panel explored the many ways conflict affects the lives of Indigenous Women. Although the mandate of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues does not explicitly address peace and conflict, the moderator recalled that this issue entered the international agenda thanks to the efforts of Indigenous Women themselves beginning in 2004, precisely because territorial violence, militarization, and dispossession directly affect their lives.
From Canada, Leia Nicholas-McKenzie warned about the persistence of racism and marginalization even in contexts that are not formally considered situations of war. She recalled that Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada experience rates of sexual violence at least three times higher than non-Indigenous women. She also denounced the criminalization of Indigenous women defenders in other contexts and affirmed that the rights of Indigenous Women cannot be separated from the collective rights of their Peoples, since the systematic violation of those collective rights is one of the main risk factors for gender-based violence.
Representing the Network of Indigenous Women in Asia, Rinda Yamashiro described how, in different parts of the continent, Indigenous territories are affected by large-scale projects imposed without free, prior, and informed consent, while militarization continues to deepen. She shared recent cases of violence in Bangladesh and Okinawa to illustrate how economic and military interests increase the vulnerability of Indigenous Women. In response, she stressed the need for culturally appropriate justice systems that also recognize Indigenous justice mechanisms.
From Latin America, Rosalee González, from the Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA), described a landscape marked by structural barriers and impunity. She mentioned emblematic cases such as that of Ernestina Ascencio in Mexico, sexual violence against Indigenous girls in the Peruvian Amazon, and the disappearance of Mapuche defender Pura Tiura. Faced with this reality, she argued that it is essential to strengthen ancestral justice based on reciprocity and Buen Vivir, and to demand that both state systems and Indigenous systems effectively protect the dignity, lives, and territories of Indigenous Women.
From Greenland, Emma Leonard, of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, reminded participants that the Arctic is not an abstract territory of geopolitical interest, but the home of Inuit Peoples. Her intervention brought attention to the gravity of the so-called “coil campaign,” in which thousands of Inuit Women and Girls were subjected to the insertion of intrauterine devices without consent, a form of reproductive violence that continues to have profound consequences. She also insisted that justice requires real participation in decision-making, and that Inuit Women must be recognized as leaders and holders of knowledge about the future of their territories.
In the closing, Teresa Zapeta reminded participants that justice cannot continue to be imagined without Indigenous Women. She stressed that it must be built with them, from their leadership, their knowledge, and their own systems, as an instrument capable of strengthening both the individual and collective dimensions of their Peoples.
The event left a clear message: access to justice for Indigenous Women cannot be addressed in isolation from the defense of territory, collective rights, political participation, memory, fexible financing and self-determination. Speaking about peace and security requires listening to Indigenous Women, recognizing their proposals, and acting against the impunity that continues to shape their lives and communities.
