About fifty indigenous men and women participated in a series of training-workshops on Indigenous Peoples’ and indigenous women’s rights and the international human rights law held in two separate occasions in the Philippines.
The series of training activities aimed to enhance the knowledge of these second-generation leaders and equip them with skills on using relevant international human rights instruments and mechanisms to advance the respect, protection and fulfillment of their human rights including the rights of indigenous women and girls.
In her opening remarks during the training on March 11-15, 2024, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, executive director of Tebtebba and former UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, emphasized that knowing and asserting the rights of Indigenous Peoples is crucial for survival and empowerment. “You need to understand these rights by heart and understand how to use them,” she stressed.
The United Nations (UN) human rights systems including the bodies and mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples were studied. Particular attention was given to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the International Labor Organization Convention No. 169, the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 on the rights of indigenous women and girls. Other human rights instruments like Comment No. 11 of the rights of indigenous children by the Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC) were also examined.
In the training-workshops, Fergus MacKay, senior legal counsel of Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) who served as the main trainer and resource person in the event, emphasized the importance of understanding the State’s obligations—to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of Indigenous Peoples. He stressed that these obligations are related to what constitutes human rights violations.
The participants analyzed cases related to the rights to lands, territories and resources, rights to education, health and water, and rights of women and children, among others. The analyses helped them understand what human rights violations are committed and what procedures and mechanisms can be used to seek remedies.
MacKay also underscored the important elements in submitting reports and complaints to appropriate treaty bodies or to regional courts. Moreover, he stressed the critical role of accurate documentation and legal argumentation in these procedures.
Part of the training-workshop last September 16-20, 2024 was the participants’ participation in the consultation meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers conducted on September 21. They shared their specific contexts as indigenous women in relation to accessing justice in the State and in the indigenous justice systems.
Kanlaya Chularattakorn, manager of the Indigenous Women’s Network of Thailand and one of the participants last September 2024 claimed that the training broadened their minds, equipping them further with what to do (and how to execute it) when they go back to their communities. “Learning the laws makes us stronger in our community; the battle or challenge for us starts with us–if we are going to use it,” said Lovely Jean Bagna who is an indigenous youth ambassador from southern Philippines.
Tauli-Corpuz and Jennifer Corpuz, Policy Director of Nia Tero, also contributed as resource persons in specific topics during the training last March 2024.
The participants of the training are members of ELATIA in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the Eastern Himalayan Network on Climate Change, and the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network.
Bread for the World, Wellspring, Packard Foundation, The Christensen Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and IPRI supported the series of training activities.