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Excellencies,<\/p>\nExcellencies,<\/p>\n
Indigenous Peoples\u2019 representatives<\/p>\n
Participants<\/p>\n
Ladies and gentlemen<\/p>\n
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who responded to my call for contributions to the reports I am presenting.<\/p>\n
As we commence the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), my report on violations of Indigenous women and girls\u2019 reproductive health and rights reviews how States have so far addressed these violations and remind them that the ends of the Declaration cannot be achieved without first redressing those historical injustices.<\/p>\n
Upholding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of Indigenous women is essential to the survival, continuity and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous women are life-givers, knowledge holders, caregivers and transmitters of language, culture and identity. Because of this central role of Indigenous women, their bodies and reproductive capabilities have historically been, and continue to be, the second primary target\u2014after Indigenous Peoples lands and territories, for those seeking to eradicate Indigenous Peoples as distinct peoples, nations or cultural identities.<\/p>\n
Forced sterilization or contraception, the enforcement of mandatory boarding schools rife with sexual violence, the demonization or outright criminalisation of Indigenous midwifery traditions, and severe acts of sexual violence aimed at instilling fear in entire communities exemplify the historical violations of the reproductive rights of Indigenous women and girls that persisted for decades across diverse regions and circumstances.<\/p>\n
The drivers of these violations were multiple, including colonialism, systemic racism, patriarchy, and efforts to assimilate or erase Indigenous Peoples cultural existence. These forces intersected to create an environment in which Indigenous women and girls were primary targets, abused and ill-treated.<\/p>\n
The report also highlights a variety of contemporary drivers of violations of the reproductive rights of Indigenous women and girls. One of these drivers is militarization, which frequently leads to increased violence and instability within Indigenous Peoples’ communities. Environmental pollution is another key driver. The reproductive health and overall well-being of Indigenous women and girls are impacted by the contamination of land, water, and air, including by extractive industries. Armed conflicts also cause and exacerbate the vulnerability of Indigenous women and girls to sexual violence and exploitation. The report further reveals that in many cases conservation initiatives have also resulted in violations of the reproductive rights of Indigenous women and girls.<\/p>\n
The legacies of these historical injustices remain visible today.<\/strong> Indigenous women and girls continue to experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence, trafficking, reproductive coercion, maternal mortality, forced separation of children from their families, criminalization of traditional health practices, and significant barriers to accessing culturally appropriate healthcare.<\/p>\n The report notes that in recent decades, some States have addressed some of these violations of Indigenous women and girls\u2019 reproductive health and rights, but responses remain sporadic, uneven and partial. So far, the main efforts of redress have included elements of public apologies, national inquiries or hearings, truth-telling initiatives, reparation measures, including some compensation. However, only a small number of States have implemented the full range of redress measures, which includes legal and policy reforms, guaranties of non-repetition, and full judicial remedies.<\/p>\n For States to achieve genuine reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, as sought by the UNDRIP, it is imperative that they comprehensively redress both these historical and contemporary forms of violations of Indigenous women and girls’ reproductive rights. This entails recognising past and present injustices, providing reparations, implementing definitive actions to avert future violations, and ensuring accountability. Truth-telling, reparation and institutional reform must be centred on the women affected and carried out in a manner that avoids re-traumatisation.<\/p>\n The report makes numerous key actionable recommendations to States and other stakeholders. It, inter alia, urges States to implement prompt and effective actions to cease these violations, offer reparations to impacted individuals, and establish intercultural health policies and programs.<\/p>\n I NOW would like to take this opportunity to make a few introductory remarks concerning my report on the country visit that I made to Botswana in September 2025. To begin, I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Botswana for the warm welcome and open collaboration that I received during my visit.<\/p>\n Botswana is among the African countries in which some communities self-identify as Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n Upon my arrival in Botswana, I immediately realised that the new Government showed a strong political commitment to addressing the historical injustices experienced by Indigenous Peoples. This was illustrated by numerous acts including the President’s initiative to return an Indigenous San elder’s remains to ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve for burial, after several years in mortuary. I also found that the current Government had established an Inter-Ministerial Committee with the responsibility of undertaking consultations and proposing policy changes with the intention of ensuring that Indigenous Peoples achieve full equality in the country.<\/p>\n My visit did, however, find that Indigenous Peoples in Botswana continue to face structural discrimination, lack of legal recognition, insecure land tenure rights, limited access to justice, and barriers to equal participation in public life. These challenges are rooted in historical dispossession, marginalization and persistent misunderstandings regarding the concept of Indigenous Peoples under international human rights law. The majority of Indigenous Peoples’ communities continue to experience extreme poverty, social exclusion and dependence on Government assistance, often linked to loss of traditional livelihoods and lack of employment opportunities.<\/p>\n The conclusion of my country visit mission report was a series of recommendations for the Government and other stakeholders, which I hope will be duly considered and implemented, and will contribute to further strengthening of the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the country.<\/p>\n I once more thank the Government, the Indigenous Peoples of Botswana and all those who contributed or supported my mission.<\/p>\n I THANK YOU<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Excellencies, Indigenous Peoples\u2019 representatives Participants Ladies and gentlemen I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who responded to my call for contributions to the reports I am presenting. As we commence the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), my report on violations\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-statements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5387,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383\/revisions\/5387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unsr.albertbarume.org\/site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}