Woven Through Indigenous Women’s Leadership

Across different countries, Indigenous Women’s organizations strengthen the use of CEDAW as a strategic tool for advocacy and accountability. Through shadow reports and alternative submissions to the CEDAW Committee—with documented experiences in countries including Guatemala, Colombia, Nepal, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Mexico—the need to recognize the individual and collective rights of Indigenous Women within the framework of the Convention becomes increasingly visible.

Across different territories and international coordination spaces, Indigenous Women’s organizations continue promoting training, knowledge exchange and the strategic use of CEDAW as an advocacy tool. These initiatives strengthen capacities, alliances and collective proposals aimed at increasing the visibility of Indigenous Women’s rights within the international human rights system.

One documented experience is the first “CEDAW Week for Indigenous Women,” held in Wayuu territory in La Guajira, Colombia. It was led by Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu in collaboration with the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI) and the School of Gender Studies at the National University of Colombia.

During the International Meeting for the Analysis and In-Depth Study of CEDAW, the initiative to promote a General Recommendation on Indigenous Women is validated. Colectiva Ixpop participates in this process alongside organizations such as Sinergia Noj and Tz’ununija’, helping transform the proposal from a collective demand into a structured advocacy process.

FIMI, together with regional Indigenous Women’s networks, leads consultations, adopts a political position and submits a formal letter to members of the CEDAW Committee requesting the development of a General Recommendation focused on the rights of Indigenous Women.

Colectiva IXPOP submits a formal request to the CEDAW Committee to promote the development of the General Recommendation.

The initiative continues gaining visibility within feminist, Indigenous and human rights spaces. These include the “International Political, Artistic, Sports and Cultural Gathering of Women Who Struggle,” held in Chiapas, Mexico, with the participation and advocacy of IXPOP, as well as a training course on the human rights of women in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the Institute of Advanced National Studies and WHRI in Ecuador.

An expert meeting on the rights of Indigenous Women is organized by the Center for Social Justice, MADRE, FIMI, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and WHRI.

That same year, as a result of the advocacy work carried out by FIMI together with several national and regional organizations, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recommends that the CEDAW Committee develop a specific General Recommendation on Indigenous Women.

Activities to raise awareness also continue through regional gatherings of Indigenous Women in Asia and Africa.

General Recommendation No. 39 becomes a central item on the agenda of ECMIA’s Continental Meeting, held in Mexico.

In Africa, AIWO promotes regional consultations to gather the priorities of Indigenous Women. Regional Indigenous Women’s networks, together with MADRE and FIMI, carry out campaigning and advocacy actions to support the development of the General Recommendation.

ECMIA submits a document to the CEDAW Committee to contribute to the development of the General Recommendation on the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls.

AIWO organizes the virtual meeting “African Indigenous Women and CEDAW.”

The CEDAW Committee also holds a Day of General Discussion on the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls, organized by OHCHR, during which several Indigenous Women’s networks, including FIMI, submit comments on the draft General Recommendation.

General Recommendation No. 39 is also one of the main pillars of the Second Global Conference of Indigenous Women, convened and led by FIMI, strengthening collective strategies to advance its adoption.

The CEDAW Committee organizes regional consultations, both online and in person, to gather contributions to the future General Recommendation. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the in-person consultation is organized by INMUJERES Mexico, UN Women, OHCHR, the CEDAW Committee, FIMI and UNICEF.

During the Committee’s 82nd session, a strategic dialogue with CEDAW experts is also held. It is co-organized by FIMI, MADRE, OHCHR—through the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples—and RLS.

That same year, the CEDAW Committee adopts General Recommendation No. 39 on the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls: a historic achievement built through collective advocacy, regional contributions and the lived experiences of Indigenous Women.

GR39 begins to be spread widely among Indigenous Women’s organizations, the donor community and member states to promote its effective implementation.

Under FIMI’s leadership and through a participatory, intercultural and rights-based process, the CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 Action Plan 2025–2030 is developed.

This strategic and operational roadmap seeks to guide advocacy, coordination and monitoring actions aimed at encouraging States to advance the effective implementation of GR39.

FIMI and regional Indigenous Women’s networks begin the first coordinated implementation phase. At the same time, each regional network starts advancing its own actions, adapted to its contexts, priorities and organizational processes.

Through its Global Leadership School, FIMI implements the first edition of the Training Programme for GR39 Advocates. As a result, 29 Indigenous Women leaders from 17 countries develop concrete action plans to advance implementation at the community, national and regional levels.

FIMI, in collaboration with Cambodian Indigenous organizations CIPO, CIPA, and CIWA, organized a regional advocacy workshop to strengthen the capacities of approximately 80 Indigenous Women leaders from Asia in the strategic use and implementation of CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 (GR39).

AIWO promotes the adoption, visibility and implementation of GR39 in Africa through educational activities, consultations, capacity building and the translation of GR39 into local Indigenous languages.

APIWD develops accessible resources on GR39, translating key materials into 12 Indigenous languages. It also promotes dialogue with policymakers and strengthens the implementation of GR39 through an intersectional approach addressing gender, disability and Indigenous identity.

AMICAM schedules a meeting in Honduras as part of the regional follow-up to General Recommendation No. 39. Within this framework, it carries out a process to broadcast and raise awareness of GR39 in Tegucigalpa, with the participation of representatives from international cooperation agencies, government, the private sector, civil society, and organizations of Indigenous and Afro-descendant women and girls.

AIWN develops training sessions, workshops and learning spaces at the regional and national levels to strengthen Indigenous Women’s knowledge of their rights and to promote the use of GR39 for advocacy work. These spaces also support the development of action plans, training processes led by AIWN members and the sharing of relevant materials through its knowledge-exchange platforms.