Violence against women most pressing indigenous issue :UN expert

(Sept. 19, 2012) Violence against women and girls and the indiscriminate extraction of natural resources are among the most pressing issues that indigenous peoples face today, a United Nations human rights expert said on Tuesday. “A recurring issue that has come to my attention in various contexts is that of violence against indigenous women and girls,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, in his statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. In the past year, Anaya has collaborated with various countries, UN agencies and indigenous peoples in several studies on the challenges indigenous peoples face on a daily basis. Indigenous self-determination and cultural integrity must be enhanced, along with efforts that are designed to prevent and punish violence against indigenous women and girls, Anaya said in his talks with representatives on indigenous issues.The implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be crucial to address this issue, he stressed. Adopted by the 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