UN expert says violence against indigenous women persists

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, has said violence against women and girls and the indiscriminate extraction of natural resources are among the most pressing issues that indigenous peoples face today.

In a statement issued in New York Wednesday, Anaya said that in the past year, he had collaborated with various countries, UN agencies and indigenous peoples in several studies and country assessments on the challenges indigenous peoples face on a daily basis.

He said he had also made recommendations to states on good practices and responded to
cases of alleged human rights violations.

Anaya said in his talks with representatives on indigenous issues, they had stressed the need for a holistic approach to combat violence against indigenous women and girls.

The he implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, he stressed,
will be crucial to address this issue.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2007 after more than two decades of debate, the Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.

PANA learnt that Anaya presented his reports to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, on the situation of indigenous peoples and their rights.

-0- PANA AA/SEG 19Sept2012