IACHR: States must prevent maternal deaths among indigenous women

September 5, 2025

Washington, DC—On International Indigenous Women's Day, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urges States to adopt concrete measures to prevent maternal deaths among indigenous women by guaranteeing effective and equitable access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.

In the Americas and the Caribbean, indigenous women are up to three times more likely to die during childbirth. This situation is linked to the inequalities they face in accessing education, information, and sexual and reproductive health services, including modern contraceptive methods, medical care before, during, and after childbirth, as well as other health-related services.

These exclusions are exacerbated when factors such as age, language, disability, geographic location, socioeconomic status and mobility, sexual orientation, and gender identity converge in a general context of structural discrimination and racism. This also exposes them to a higher risk of maternal morbidity and mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and obstetric violence, such as forced sterilization.

The IACHR recalls that the Convention of Belém do Pará obliges States to eliminate discrimination and violence against indigenous women, with policies informed by an intersectional, intercultural, and gender perspective. In this regard, they must ensure that women have access to comprehensive and understandable information that allows them to exercise autonomy in decisions affecting their bodies and lives. Likewise, sexual and reproductive health services must be free, accessible, and culturally appropriate, incorporating an intersectional, intercultural, and gender-based approach, as well as traditional health systems or practices, when women themselves so choose.

In accordance with the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, States must promote intercultural practices in sexual and reproductive health services after consulting with women. In this context, health personnel must incorporate a comprehensive approach that considers the expectations of indigenous women, respects their traditions and beliefs, and guarantees care free of discrimination, especially during childbirth.

Therefore, the IACHR calls on States to implement measures aimed at preventing maternal mortality, developed through consultation processes with the participation of indigenous women in a manner that recognizes their experiences and ancestral knowledge in matters of sexual and reproductive health, in exercise of their right to self-determination. These actions should promote access to culturally relevant information, education, and health services provided by qualified and sensitized personnel.

Finally, the IACHR urges States to value and integrate ancestral knowledge into national health systems, in particular traditional midwifery, as a practice that can contribute to reducing maternal mortality.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance of human rights in the region and to act as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 180/25

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