Support to Bring an Intersectional Gendered Lens to Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2021

BACKGROUND:The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is a statement of the
collective and individual rights that are necessary for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous
peoples around the world. In 2015 BPW Canada Resolution #3 urged the Government of Canada to
adopt UNDRIP.

Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was
acclaimed into law by Royal Assent on June 21, 2021. Further, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission Call to Action # 43 called upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments
to fully adopt and implement UNDRIP as the framework for reconciliation.

Although women’s human rights are formally codified under the United Nations Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Indigenous peoples’ human rights are codified under
the UNDRIP, Indigenous women’s rights are often neglected at international and local levels. The
Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls (2019) also includes a call, with the full participation of Indigenous
women, girls, and LGBTQ2S+, to fully comply with UNDRIP to eliminate gender discrimination in the
Indian Act among other measures.