Indigenous Women Leading the Fight Against Harmful Toxics: A Human Rights Perspective

1. A Human Rights Framework for work on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants IITC & ACAT Webinar, April 17th, 2017

2. Indigenous Peoples Work at the Stockholm Convention Conferences of the Parties

3. The Stockholm Convention Advocacy – ExCOP 2015 Indigenous Peoples, in particular Indigenous Women, have led the fight against harmful toxics by sharing their stories in the world arena.

4. Women Rising • Advocacy efforts in preparation of the COPs: • tribal resolutions from impacted communities • Information sharing (listservs, webinars, etc.) • On-site training

5. Special Needs of Indigenous Women and Children “Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities in the implementation of this Declaration”. -- Article 22 Photo: Ben Powless

6. Indigenous Women & Girls’ Right to Heath is Disproportionately Impacted Indigenous women in many regions have a central role in traditional food gathering/ preparation and cultural practices, increasing their exposure Women and girls gather Tule (reeds) for basket making, California

7. The Stockholm Convention recognizes impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ health and subsistence foods as “issues” “Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous communities are particularly at risk because of the biomagnifcations of POPs and that contamination of their traditional foods is a public health issue” -- preamble

8. The Rotterdam Convention (and US law) allows the US to export chemicals they have banned for use in the US as long as they inform the importing country of their status "Just because something is not illegal, it may still be immoral. Allowing the export of products recognized to be harmful is immoral" -- UN Special Rapporteur on the Adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Ms. Fatma-Zohra Ouhachi-Vesely on her 1st country visit to the US, December 2001 .

9. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health… 2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: (c) To combat disease and malnutrition, …through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution; -- Article 24 )

10. The UN CERD has called on the US and Canada to hold their corporations accountable For example, in February 2008, CERD expressed concerns about the adverse effects of US transnational corporations, “on rights to land, health, living environment and the way of life of indigenous peoples”, and called on the US to take legislative and administrative measures to prevent transnational corporations it registers “from negatively impacting on the enjoyment of rights of indigenous peoples in territories outside the United States.” “Exports included < 27 million pounds of pesticides whose use is forbidden in the United States.” -- Pesticide Exports from U.S. Ports, 2001–2003, by Carl Smith, Kathleen Karr MD, and Ava Sadripour, Esq.

11. The UN General Assembly Adopts the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, September 2007 UN General Assembly September 13th, 2007 New York Geneva, 1977

12. Pesticides and Community Health, Rio Yaqui, Sonora Mexico “The airplanes spray chemicals on the crops, and it affects the town and its inhabitants. In and around the whole town there are large tanks holding hazardous chemicals. Many people have died here.” -- Testimony submitted to IITC by a 48 year old mother of 6, Potam Pueblo, Rio Yaqui Sonora, October 19, 2003

13. Permanent Damage to Maternal Health and Development of Infants and Children Rio Yaqui, Mexico May 2006

14. Prenatal Exposure Linked to Abnormal Breast Development in Yaqui girls *All exceed FAO/WHO established limits

15. The US Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 2010 facilities in 23 US states manufactured pesticides which are not permitted to be used in the US in response to a FOIA request filed by IITC. Mexico was listed as an importing country.

16. United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Report on the 13th Session, 12 - 23 May 2014 • Considering their impact on the sexual health and reproductive rights of indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum calls, in paragraph 62 of the report, for “a legal review of United Nations chemical conventions, in particular the Rotterdam Convention, to ensure that they are in conformity with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.

17. In June 2015, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recognized “Environmental Health” as a new human rights category for the protection of children’s and maternal health IITC’s delegation to the CRC country review of Mexico, May 2015, Geneva

18. CRC Concluding Observations re: Mexico, June 8, 2015 Under the heading “Environmental Health” the Committee expressed concerns “that the State party has not taken sufficient measures to address air, water, soil and electromagnetic pollution, which gravely impact on children and maternal health. The import and use of pesticides or chemicals banned or restricted for use in third countries, which particularly affect indigenous children in the state of Sonora, is also a reason of deep concern.” The Committee specifically recommended that Mexico “prohibit the import and use of any pesticides or chemicals that have been banned or restricted for use in exporting countries”

19. Indigenous Women introduce “Environmental Violence” to the UN as a new HR concept 2nd INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS WOMEN'SENVIRONMENTAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHSYMPOSIUM, CHICKALOON ALASKA, APRIL 2012

20. Chi Miigwech, Many Thanks