"Sisters, you are all summoned to make progress and to
decisively and firmly take a step forward, united through the diversity of our
peoples; to stand up and to make our capacity known and to demand that our
Nation-States respect our rights, but also to work strenuously for ourselves
and our people, resuming and exercising the lessons our mothers and
grandmothers taught us: they are the guide and path to the future."
– Delegates of the Fourth Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the
Americas
Under the framework proclaimed by the UN of the International Decade of
Indigenous Peoples of the World that ends in 2004, we, the indigenous women of
the original peoples of Abya Yala, Pachamama, Welmapu, Ximhai and Kipatsi, (2)
gathered from April 4 to 7, 2004, in the city of Lima, Peru, the ancestral
territory of the Quetchua, Asháninka, Aymara, Shipibo, Konibo,
Kakataibo, Machiguenga, Nomatsiguenga, Kakinte, Yanesha,Yine, Aguaruna,
Huambisa, Kokama, Kokamilla, Chayahuita, Bora, Huitoto, Haramkbut, Huachipaire,
Arasaire, Jebusaire, Kashinahua and other indigenous peoples in voluntary
isolation who have inhabited their lands from time immemorial, hereby declare
that:
1. We
reaffirm that we are indigenous women, bearers of a ancient heritage who
continue to fight united with our peoples to achieve our freedom for
self-determination. We understand that globalization is a threat to our First
Peoples. Today, our people have stood up to fight for the historic rights of
which they have been systematically deprived. This struggle has brought us
closer to each other as we consider all our concerns and establish a common
agenda as indigenous women through stronger, inclusive, respectful and tolerant
bonds with the same diversity and differences of our own peoples.
2. We
recognize the contribution of our elder sisters who suffered from the
discrimination of our own indigenous brothers and sisters when they demanded
the recognition of a space for indigenous women. Similarly, we reviewed certain
customs that harm us and sadden our hearts; we discussed them maturely and
exercised the right to change them. These women as well as ourselves have
suffered from the institutionalized violence of Nation-States on our continent
that has brought about the structural exclusion of our indigenous peoples.
3. We
adopt the resolutions of the "Summit of Indigenous Women of the Americas,"
the "Forum of Indigenous Women of Asia" and those emanating from the
preparatory meetings held in all the countries prior to the III Session of the
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In addition, we establish
strategic alliances with social movements that fight for the care of natural
resources, biodiversity and life itself; the democratization movement of the
Nation-States; and international organizations that sympathize with our
aspirations.
4. We
ratify our commitment to attain "unity in diversity," expanding and
strengthening the spaces achieved for young women and girls, renewing
leadership, bearing in mind that they are the future of our original peoples.
5. We
ratify our commitment to conserve the values, knowledge and teachings of our
peoples and to recover our traditional foods, songs, religion, medicine,
beliefs and world-view as values that distinguish us from other national
societies, and we commit ourselves to establishing the appropriate institutions
to strengthen our knowledge and values.
6. We
recognize the progress made by international legal mechanisms, such as ILO
Convention 169, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the
Special Rapporteur Report on Human Rights as well as the Fundamental Freedoms
of Indigenous Peoples. However, these international mechanisms still lack
adequate funding in addition to the material conditions required in order to
fulfill these commitments.
7. We
are concerned about serious violations of human rights and fundamental rights
of individuals due to the growing militarization of our territories; the
displacement and internal harassment suffered by our communities due to the
implementation of mega-projects; armed conflicts; religious and political
intolerance; the plundering of our natural resources, knowledge and wisdom; the
plunder of our seeds for the establishment of germoplasm banks and the
proliferation of transgenic seeds that cause a wide variety of sickness and
disease as well as genetic changes.
Therefore:
1. We
reject the lack of national policies on the generation of employment and social
and economic development for indigenous peoples that has spurred massive
migrations overseas from indigenous towns and obliged illegal immigrants to
become victims persecuted by the authorities of any Nation-State.
2. We
repudiate the laws governing privatizations and the indiscriminate exploitation
of natural resources such as water that have an impact on the survival of
indigenous peoples, violate human and collective rights and irreversibly affect
the natural resources that sustain biodiversity.
3. We
disclaim the signing of international treaties entered into by governments to
implement trade agreements such as the Plan Puebla Panama, Plan Colombia,
NAFTA, FTAA, the Cocalero Plan, the Andean and Amazon Pact and the Biological
Meso-American Corridor, since these agreements affect the interests and rights
of indigenous peoples and national economic development.
4. We
reject outright the execution of mega-projects that plunder our territories,
knowledge, wisdom and natural resources.
5. We
reject the military occupation of indigenous territories in each Nation-State
since this involves the persecution of our indigenous authorities and leaders.
We also reject the aggravated discrimination of indigenous women due to our
threefold condition as women, indigenous and poor.
6. We
denounce the impunity and corruption of governments that do not seek, promote
or guarantee respect for our rights or our fundamental freedoms by disregarding
justice and national and international laws, pacts and agreements.
7. We
denounce the racist and discriminatory attitudes of officials of the
Nation-States of our Americas who systematically and repeatedly violate our
fundamental rights and freedoms. This racism must be stamped out since it is
one of the causes of the exclusion of thousands of women and it violates our
fundamental rights, such as the right to health and education.
8. We
propose to all women of the world that they adopt our natural and ancestral
laws once again and exercise them and that they carry out campaigns to recover
our sacred sites, our symbols and our sacred animals.
9. We
urge Nation-States to adopt the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples and the OAS American Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples since they are the minimum laws that guarantee our permanence and
validity.
10. We
demand that Nation-States include the participation of indigenous peoples in
political decisions concerning the execution of mega-projects so that they may
be informed and consulted and that these consultations be respected. We issue a
warning against the latent danger of a deepening of social conflict.
11. We
propose that Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) become a State policy
covering pre-school, primary, secondary and advanced levels of education,
including both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, in order to learn how to
respect our gender, ethnic, racial and social class differences and the
autonomy of each First People.
12. We
propose and reiterate to the governments of our countries that they adopt
social, environmental and cultural compensation programs to make up for the
damage caused to the environment, the basis of our survival.
13. We
recommend to the ILO:
a) To
urgently implement surveillance measures with respect to ILO Convention 169,
creating an opportunity for direct dialogue between the ILO and indigenous
peoples to monitor and evaluate its fulfillment;
b) A
system for the direct participation of indigenous peoples according to their
legal status to present their demands directly to the ILO and not through
unions or professional associations.
14. We
propose that, jointly with indigenous peoples, the United Nations carry out a
serious and responsible evaluation of the International Decade of Indigenous
Peoples of the World, that it be expanded for another decade and that a World
Summit of Indigenous Peoples be held.
15. We
urge the Nation-States of our Americas to guarantee consultation mechanisms
with indigenous peoples, recognizing their authorities and representatives and
promoting grassroots consultation processes on topics that concern us, such as
the OAS Draft American Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the
United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; we also urge
them to prompt other Nation-States to rapidly adopt these declarations.
16. We
demand that Nation-States take into account indigenous peoples who live in
rural areas and large cities, providing them with basic social services; we
demand that these services be implemented from the perspective and vision of
the culture and knowledge of indigenous peoples.
17. We
recommend that United Nations organizations pay more attention to their
policies and actions to improve the conditions of health, education, economy
and political participation of indigenous women and youth.
Lima, Peru
1. Mama Waku was a warrior woman and heroine of the founding era of the
Inka civilization in South America.
2. Editor’s
Note: Spelling of the indigenous peoples’ names has been preserved from
the original Spanish-language declaration. This English version is an adapted
from the translation available on the América Latina en movimiento
(ALAI) website, http://alainet.org.