International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people across 70 countries worldwide. Indigenous women face many forms of discrimination and violence, both as women and as indigenous peoples, and face different obstacles in overcoming these issues daily.

The focus of this year's International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples [9 August] is “Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples health and well-being”. Indigenous women experience disproportionate difficulties in access to health care, as well as higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Though indigenous women are counted upon to support the health and well-being of their families, they often face hurdles to access the resources to build the foundation of a better life, such as education and land.

UN Women actively supports indigenous women around the world to ensure that their rights are respected and their concerns heard through our Fund for Gender Equality programmes to increase economic empowerment and political participation, UN Trust Fund grants to end violence against indigenous women and girls, or other targeted UN Women research or programmes.

Related information:

International Instruments for the Rights of Women and Indigenous Peoples

This publication, in which international treaties are reproduced on the rights of women and indigenous peoples, is based on the compilation by the UN Women Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean and replaces the first edition of 2012 based in the Regional UN Women Program "Working against ethnic and racial discrimination for the effective exercise of the rights of indigenous Latin American women". It was re-edited and presented here in the context of the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples 2014. Access to the publication here.