With the theme, "Working Towards Our Collective Peace, Justice and Our Rights", The Third Historic Northeast India Indigenous Women Peace Congregation was held online via zoom at the backdrop of a global pandemic where Indigenous women of Northeast India and the world gathered to share experiences, lessons and to adopt resolutions for their future on 21 November 2020.
The peace congregation was organized by the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace & The Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice & Peace. The congregation saw the gathering of over 51 indigenous scholars, practitioners and women rights activists from eight states of Northeast India and also from around the world including indigenous women leaders from the Americas, Peru, Japan, Philippines and Bangladesh. Mr Laishram Niketan, a story teller and a pena player from Manipur performed a beautiful song called "Yaikairol' meaning awakening song at the inaugural session of the peace congregation.
The strength of women of Northeast India has been proven historically time and again. The congregation recognizes the 116 year old women's movement in Manipur and Northeast Region that started with First Nupi Lan or Women's War of 1904 against British Colonial Rule, followed by the Second Women's War or 1939 and the setting up of the legendary MeiraPaibis in 1980s following the start of counter-insurgency operations. We also recognized the historic work done by Naga Mothers Association, Kuki Mothers Association and many others who paved the way for the emergence of a strong indigenous women's movement in Northeast India.
Inspired by the work of women of Northeast & around the world, Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network along with many others established the Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace in 2009-10 and on 25 March 2015, we brought together indigenous women from Northeast India for the First Historic Northeast Women Peace Congregation held in Manipur. This was followed by "Second Northeast India Women Peace Congregation held on 24-25 August 2016 in Guwahati, Assam. Also informed by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, UNDRIP, UNSCR 1325 and many other conventions that protect the rights of women and indigenous peoples.
We, thus, came together on 21 November 2020 on an online platform due to the pandemic for The Historic Third Northeast India Indigenous Women Peace Congregation with the theme "Working Towards Our Collective Peace, Justice and Our Rights' and we seek to resolve the following:
1. Set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Northeast India to investigation into all forms of death, disappearances and acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing of Indigenous People from Northeast India since 1949 till date. This is important to acknowledge our past, to understand our present and take positive steps for future peace in region.
2. Recognize racial, gender and environmental violence, population engineering, distortion of our histories, cultures, languages, rituals and indigenous ways of life and indigenous faith in our region and find ways to protect this.
3. Acknowledge the rising violence against indigenous women and girls, arms and narco-trafficking in our areas as this has greatly impacted our youth, our security and our democracy.
4. Discuss ways to bring peaceful resolution of political settlement to the conflicts in region and ensure that women are included in all peace talks, negotiations and decision making. No peace without women of Northeast India. No to peace talks without women.
5. Call for the setting up of an anti-racial law to stop racial violence against indigenous peoples of Northeast India and call for repeal the Discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act passed in Dec 2019 as this Act also impacts and discriminates Indigenous Peoples.
6. The Women Congregation also recognizes that Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been continuously imposed in the Northeast region since 1958 and that its removal will be the greatest confidence building measure that Govt of India can do to the people of Northeast India. Sincere efforts must be made to de-militarized the region so peoples and children of Northeast India can grow up in peaceful, nurturing environment. The Congregation is launching the "De-militarise Indigenous Territories Northeast India", "Lay Down Your Arms" Campaign.
7. Resources spent in militarization, counter-insurgency operations in Northeast India should be rather invested in health, education, fight environment degradation of the indigenous peoples of Northeast India. Extraction industries should not be allowed to destroy the forests and living habitats and biodiversity of indigenous peoples of Northeast Region.
8. Strengthen survivors assistance and ensure economic empowerment programs to help support women and children survivors of violence and all forms of violent conflict. To ensure all perpetrators of sexual violence committed by state and non-state, rape at gun point must stop and justice be done. Till today, the security forces who raped and killed ThangjamManorama has not been arrested. Those who commit the crime must be punished and not protected.
9. Stop the rising threats and attacks against Indigenous women and other human rights defenders, media etc in the region and protect freedom of expression which is a must for a robust democracy.
10. Increase women in decision making. Aim to ensure 100 indigenous women in decision making positions - socially, economic, political. Gender budgeting with proper allocation of resources must be done at every state in Northeast India so that proper resources can be set aside.
11. Forge alliances with other global indigenous women leaders and communities to work towards ensuring rule of law and deepen democracy.
12. Congregation pay our deepest condolences to families who have lost loved ones in the COVID 19 pandemic and called upon all to work together to help heal lives and go through this crisis together.
Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace P.O. Box 27 New York, NY 10032, USA
