A/HRC/30/41 of discrimination and marginalization, based on gender, class, ethnic origin and socioeconomic circumstances; and historical and current violations of the right to selfdetermination and control of resources. 6. Despite many barriers to inclusion, indigenous leaders and advocates have made significant strides in achieving recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights and perspectives, including the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous women actively participated in the processes that gave birth to all those mechanisms and thus feel some ownership over the Declaration and the mechanisms. 7. All the provisions of the Declaration apply equally to indigenous women and indigenous men. Article 22 (2) specifically provides that States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination. In the outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, which focused on indigenous women, the participating Heads of State and Government, ministers and representatives of Member States invited the Human Rights Council to consider examining the causes and consequences of violence against indigenous women and girls, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and other special procedures mandate holders.1 8. Despite the progress made, systematic attention to the specific vulnerability of indigenous women has remained limited in relation to the scale of abuses against them. Furthermore, what international attention has been given to the issue has not sufficiently focused on the nexus between individual and collective rights, nor on how intersecting forms of discrimination and vulnerability contribute to ongoing abuses of indigenous women’s rights. That has created a gap that has contributed to ongoing widespread impunity in relation to the rights of indigenous women and girls. 9. There have been some promising signs of progress towards closing that gap, such as the efforts taken by indigenous women to empower themselves by establishing their own organizations and networks, and making their issues more visible at national and global levels. Indigenous women’s participation in the United Nations world conferences on women has increased with time, the highlight being the conference in Beijing in 1995, where participants ensured references to indigenous women and achieved the adoption of the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women, which has served as a guiding framework in many of their subsequent efforts to build and strengthen their organizations. It must be recognized that the United Nations has established a solid gender equality and women’s rights regime, which has opened up more possibilities for indigenous women to engage in debates on gender issues. Several Special Rapporteurs, including the previous rapporteurs on indigenous peoples’ rights, have contributed through raising awareness of issues facing indigenous women and have made relevant recommendations. 10. To contribute to addressing any continuing gaps in monitoring and implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Issues, the Special Rapporteur dedicates the present report to the issue of indigenous women and girl’s rights. While recognizing the great diversity in the experiences of indigenous women, she will take a global approach, 1 4 See General Assembly resolution 69/2, para. 19.