The director of Foirn, Janete Alves, from the Desana people, presented a series of demands at a meeting of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), in Switzerland
Indigenous women from the Amazon were represented this Monday (20/05) at the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), in Geneva, Switzerland, by Janete Alves, from the Desana people, director of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Rio Negro (FOIRN).
She participates, alongside other indigenous and non-indigenous women, in the 88th Brazilian Assessment Session of the UN Convention on this topic.
Janete Desana is a female leader from the region of Iauaretê, district of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), on the border with Colombia, and, for the session at the UN, she painted traditional graphics of her people on her face that mean happy and warrior woman.
In her speech, she highlighted a series of pressures that women in the region are suffering, especially the invasion of miners, which leads to mercury contamination of water and fish, and the problem of international drug trafficking.
Furthermore, Janete highlighted the deficiencies in women's health, which result in several consequences, such as mortality from cervical cancer and the absence of indigenous medicine in the formal health system.
The director of Foirn brought recommendations to the Brazilian State, including that it incorporate “our shamans, healers and midwives into its professional staff and that it hire women for gynecological treatment”.
“To carry out territorial inspection, removing invaders from Indigenous Lands. That our right to prior consultation provided for in ILO Convention 169 is respected and that our Consultation Protocols are recognized by the State for any mineral or oil extraction project that affects our rivers and our well-being. Thank you very much! Añu'u!”, he said, ending his speech with a thank you in the Tukano language.
Janete Desana represented the Amazon Cooperation Network (RCA), which is made up of 14 Indigenous and Indigenous Organizations from the Brazilian Amazon, including the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
She is accompanied by the lawyer from ISA's Rio Negro Program, Renata Vieira. According to her, discussions will take place throughout this week and, at the end, Cedaw will make recommendations to governments for actions to combat discrimination against women.
According to Renata Vieira, Janete Desana's speech as a female indigenous leader reinforces the voices of indigenous women, adolescents and children who are victims of discrimination that generate violence in different ways.
Two reports were prepared and sent with the aim of carrying out an assessment of the implementation of the rights provided for in Cedaw, in light of the Recommendation number 39, which presents a set of actions that must be taken by States to prevent and protect indigenous women and girls against gender-based violence.
The Committee recognizes that gender-based violence against indigenous women is a form of discrimination and that it disproportionately affects indigenous girls and women.
One of the reports was prepared by Department of Indigenous Women of Rio Negro (DMIRN) in partnership with ISA, RCA and Institute of Race, Equality and Human Rights. DMIRN/FOIRN represents women from 23 ethnicities, such as Baré, Desana, Baniwa, Tukano, Dâw, Yanomami who live in the territory of the Middle and Upper Rio Negro.
O document (in Spanish) provides information on data collected through research, technical reports, testimonies, letters, minutes of meetings and experiences in the last decade by indigenous women in the Rio Negro region, which concentrates two of the most indigenous municipalities in the country, located in border with Venezuela and Colombia. It also contains a list of questions and recommendations related to difficulties in accessing public health, security, rights, among others.
Another report was prepared by the Association of Indigenous Women in Mutirão (AMIM), Institute of Indigenous Research and Training (Iepé), RCA, Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights and provides elements on the situation of indigenous women in Oiapoque, Amapá, in border with French Guiana, also in the Brazilian Amazon, based on the issues and demands of indigenous women from the Karipuna, Galibi Marworno, Galibi Kali'na and Palikur peoples.
The National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (Anmiga) also sent a report on the situation of indigenous women to the UN committee.
Check out full speech or watch on Instagram of the Amazon Cooperation Network!
Loading