CEDAW/C/GC/39
I. Introduction
1.
The present general recommendation provides guidance to States parties on
legislative, policy and other relevant measures to ensure the implementation of their
obligations in relation to the rights of Indigenous women and girls under the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination a gainst Women. There
are an estimated 476.6 million Indigenous Peoples globally, of whom more than half
(238.4 million) are women. 1 Discrimination and violence are recurrent phenomena in
the lives of many Indigenous women and girls living in rural, remote and urban areas.
The present general recommendation applies to Indigenous women and girls both
inside and outside Indigenous territories.
2.
The present general recommendation takes into account the voices of
Indigenous women and girls as driving actors and leaders inside and outside their
communities. It identifies and addresses different forms of intersectional
discrimination faced by Indigenous women and girls and their key role as leaders,
knowledge-bearers and transmitters of culture among their peoples, communities and
families, as well as society as a whole. The Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women has consistently identified patterns of discrimination
faced by Indigenous women and girls in the exercise of their human rights, 2 and the
factors that continue to exacerbate discrimination against them. Such discrimination
is often intersectional and based on factors such as sex; gender; Indigenous origin,
status or identity; race; ethnicity; disability; age; language; socioeconomi c status; and
HIV/AIDS status. 3
3.
Intersectional discrimination against Indigenous women and girls must be
understood in the context of the multifaceted nature of their identity. They face
discrimination and gender-based violence, frequently committed by State and nonState actors. These forms of violence and discrimination are widespread and are often
treated with impunity. Indigenous women and girls often have an inextricable link
and relation to their peoples, lands, territories, natural resources and culture. To
ensure compliance with articles 1 and 2 and other relevant provisions of the
Convention, State action, legislation and policies must reflect and respect the
multifaceted identity of Indigenous women and girls. States parties should also take
into consideration the intersectional discrimination experienced by Indigenous
women and girls on the basis of factors such as sex; gender; Indigenous origin, status
or identity; race; ethnicity; disability; age; language; socioeconomic status; and
HIV/AIDS status.
4.
State action to prevent and address discrimination against Indigenous women
and girls throughout their lifespan must integrate a gender perspective, an
intersectional perspective, an Indigenous women and girls perspective, an
intercultural perspective and a multidisciplinary perspective. A gender perspective
takes into consideration the discriminatory norms, harmful social practices,
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1
2
3
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International Labour Organization (ILO), Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
Convention No. 169: Towards an Inclusive, Sustainable and Just Future (Geneva, 2019), p. 13;
and Department of Economic and Social Affairs, State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, vol. 5,
Rights to Lands, Territories and Resources (United Nations publication, 2021), p. 119.
See, for example, general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women,
paras. 14–15. For more discussion of the work of the Committee in the area of Indigenous
women, see United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
(UN-Women) and Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
“Recomendaciones Generales y Observaciones Finales del Comité para la Eliminación de la
Discriminación contra la Mujer sobre mujeres indígenas y/o afrodescendientes realizadas a
Estados de América Latina” (Clayton, Panama, 2017).
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, art. 2.
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