rights. It explains that indigenous and tribal culture is not static, that efforts must be made
to ensure that social change supports women’s rights and interests. The brief also states
that indigenous women’s participation should be mandatory in consultation and decisionmaking processes about natural resource management.52 The brief recommends that
gender analysis should form an essential part of the impact assessment process. The InterAmerican Court judgments also support the view that participation and gender impact
assessments offer a safeguard for indigenous and tribal women’s human rights.
The Panel observed that the traditional authority structure of the Pamaka provides
opportunities for women to participate as general members of the community, leaders, and
representatives. The Panel met three Pamakan women in leadership positions, including a
Captain, a member of the Negotiating Committee, and a “land boss” who was also a
business owner. The Panel observed some women voicing opinions, concerns, and
aspirations for the future to their male counterparts, other members of the community, and
the Panel. This provides an indication that the company had included some women in some
engagement processes.
However, there were other indications that Surgold needs to work with Pamaka authorities
to strengthen its approach to gender inclusion. During one of the community-level
discussions, for instance, a female Captain explained that in the past, she was invited to
community meetings with the company. However, in recent years, she said she was no
longer invited to meetings and the company tended to engage the male Captains. She
emphasized that the land is communally owned, that the impacts of mining will affect
everyone, that the youth and future generations had the most to lose, and that due process
should be followed, in line with agreed protocols of engagement.
Other Pamakan women expressed frustration that their access to information about the
project’s potential adverse impacts and benefits had diminished, and that they were less
able to voice their opinion about the project than was the case previously. As noted above,
women said that the company’s past engagement practice had been more inclusive
(although they did not suggest that it had previously been sufficient). The issue of women’s
access to information was also raised by a female member of the Negotiating Committee
who explained that women’s information needs were often different to men’s, and that
women in the community did not always have access to the information they needed, in a
form that they could understand.
52
UN Expert Mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples similarly emphasized: “women have the
right to equality in the exercise of the right of indigenous peoples to participate in both internal and
external decision-making processes and institutions.” Final study on indigenous peoples and the right
to participate in decision-making, May 26, 2011, para. 36. See also Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Communities of African Descent, Extractive Industries, 31
December 2015, http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/ExtractiveIndustries2016.pdf: pp. 1678.
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