Recommendations The Philippine Government has ratified UN CEDAW, signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), as well as passed progressive national laws, the Magna Carta of Women and the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act. These laws signify the commitment of the Philippine government to fulfill its obligations to protect and promote the rights of rural and indigenous women. However, with its national development framework geared towards the maximum utilization of the country’s natural resources for profit, giving preferential treatments to foreign investments, women human rights are being sacrificed. Gender biases and discrimination, patriarchal structures and violence against women are being institutionalized to further the interests of these mining corporations. Below outlines key points for action by the State Party with respect to the implementation of the MCW and CEDAW towards protecting the rights of indigenous women ensnared in traps of the mining sector and rammed in further by the neglect and indifference of the government to her plights. 1. In March 2016, the CEDAW released General Recommendation No. 34 on the rights of the rural women. As a party to CEDAW, the Philippine government should abide by these articulated obligations of the States, which directly applies to indigenous women. It further specifies recommended steps for the government to create an enabling environment for rural women to exercise their rights in the areas of rural development, access to health, elimination of discrimination in economic and social life, access to education and learning opportunities, decent work and employment, participation in political and public life, access to land and natural resources, and attaining adequate living conditions. 2. The government has to fulfill its state obligations – the full realization of the rights of rural and indigenous women as enshrined in the Magna Carta of Women and IPRA. 3. The government needs to ensure the provision of basic social services to GIDA areas to decrease the vulnerabilities of communities, particularly rural and indigenous women; and eliminate the dependency on mining corporations for these services. 4. The government should provide financial and technical assistance and support to indigenous communities for the development, management and control of their ancestral domain and territories. The mining corporations should not be relied on for these forms of assistance. 5. The NCIP has to ensure that there is genuine FPIC, and that the process is inclusive and democratic. Concretely, review the existing FPIC guidelines from a women human rights perspective, while still respecting the customary practices. There should be government budget allocation for FPIC processing and should not come from the mining companies, to be able to have independent processes. 6. Revoke policies which are being used to legitimize harassment and attacks on community resisters and rights defenders, e.g. Investment Defense Force. 7. Rural and indigenous women have to have access to justice and grievance mechanisms. There should be accessible, immediate and effective institutional mechanisms within the government (i.e. CHR) which are equipped to handle monitoring, acceptance of reports of women human rights violations and abuses, investigation and filing of cases, involving mining companies. There should be a commission within CHR on the impacts of extractive industry; or complaints against HR violations and abuses by corporations or related to the operations of extractive projects. 10