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> México: First Indigenous Women's Summit of the
> Americas
>
> We, the participants of the First Indigenous Women's
> Summit of the
> Americas, gathered in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico
> from the 30th of November
> to the 4th of December 2002, in an effort to share
> our experiences and
> formulate proposals on the topics of Human Rights
> and Indigenous Peoples
> Rights, Empowerment and political participation of
> indigenous women;
> spirituality, education and culture; development and
> globalization and
> gender from an Indigenous women's perspective
> present the following
> declaration:
> Accepting, that Indigenous Peoples have an inherent
> right to sovereignty,
> self- determination and autonomy, which includes the
> right to freely
> determine our political status and pursue our
> economic, social and cultural
> development, and our individual and collective
> rights to land, territories,
> natural resources, biodiversity and intellectual
> property;
> Demanding, that Indigenous women be full
> participants in the struggles and
> processes in constituting the development of our
> nations and cultures
> dependant upon equality between women and men in
> decision-making at all
> levels, including the experiences, values,
> principles and knowledge of our
> elders and the enthusiasm of our youth;
> Considering, that Indigenous women continue to live
> under conditions of
> great discrimination, racism, extreme poverty,
> exclusion and lack of access
> to power, reflected in the inequalities in labor
> markets and access to fair
> wages between Indigenous women and men, between
> Indigenous women and
> non-Indigenous women, as well as in the fact that
> Indigenous communities in
> most cases have limited access to market economies,
> raw materials,
> resources and knowledge;
> Recognizing, that the richness of our Peoples has
> its origins in the
> transmission of values through community education,
> in which women have
> played a central role as midwives, counselors and
> spiritual guides,
> allowing the transmission of our traditional values
> and teachings, which
> are crucial to the development of health models in
> keeping with our
> cultures and traditions; at the same time we
> recognize the improvement in
> bilingual, intercultural education, with the
> contribution and effort of the
> Indigenous Peoples.
> Affirming, that education for Indigenous women is
> critical to our
> collective development, understanding the need to
> promote intercultural
> education in our own languages and with our own
> cosmovision, through a
> process that is ongoing and responsive to changing
> needs, to provide tools
> to continue to face the challenges of life,
> recognizing that Mother Earth
> is our first teacher, she teaches us to live with
> her, take care of her and
> protect her;
> Affirming, that in order to ensure the full and
> effective participation of
> Indigenous women, we must take control of the
> development of alternative
> solutions to our problems, including raising the
> consciousness of men,
> which in many cases represents the first barrier to
> full participation
> faced by Indigenous women;
> Affirming, that Indigenous women currently face
> multiple forms of
> discrimination that stop us from developing our full
> capacity and
> potential, and therefore the full enjoyment of our
> individual and
> collective rights as Peoples;
> Recognizing, that Indigenous Peoples working in
> various political,
> economic, social and cultural spheres often
> encounter problems
> incorporating a gender perspective into their
> ongoing workplans and
> policies, resulting in the undermining of the input
> of Indigenous women in
> Indigenous organizations.
> Recognizing, that Indigenous women have gained a
> voice in international
> forums in the last few years where we have clearly
> stated our demands,
> however this has not resulted in an improvement in
> the situation we face in
> our realities, particularly the situation faced by
> Indigenous Women.
> Recognizing that gains in international instruments
> have not resulted in
> the improvement of the lives of Indigenous women in
> their communities,
> because the policies have been written from a
> Western perspective.
> Affirming, an increase in violence, trafficking, and
> forced prostitution of
> Indigenous women and children in the Americas, in
> part caused by increasing
> militarization and armed conflict, and the
> implementation of laws against
> terrorism, resulting in internal and external
> displacement of peoples,
> increased levels of poverty and human rights
> violations, particularly
> violence against Indigenous women;
> Affirming, that a gender perspective for Indigenous
> women refers to the
> power differential between women and men, a
> perspective that provides an
> equilibrium between women and men that ensures
> equality amongst Indigenous
> Peoples, an inclusive attitude, a pluricultural and
> diverse view, and the
> exercise of our individual and collective rights.
> Adopted in the city of Oaxaca, December, 4th., 2002
>
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