Small Moments, Big Shifts: Indigenous Women in Global Governance
In this article, youth delegate Zyarna Leefe [1] explains that the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women showed how global decisions are shaped not only by formal talks, but also by the relationships people build. It highlights how Indigenous women use UNDRIP to create visible, connected spaces and shift the focus from “should we include people?” to “how do we include people well?” It also shows how small, ongoing acts of solidarity can lead to long-term change.
Participating in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) gave me a different perspective on how multilateralism actually works in practice. It is easy to think of global governance as something that happens in formal rooms, through state negotiations and official statements. But what stood out to me most was how much of it is shaped in the spaces around those processes, through conversation, connection and shared experience.
One of the most meaningful parts of the experience was meeting Indigenous women involved in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement, something I had previously written about in my master’s research. Their advocacy draws on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for pushing for accountability and protection (United Nations General Assembly 2007). Seeing that work in person made it clear that international norms are not just documents, they are something Indigenous people actively use, adapt and carry forward (Lightfoot 2016, Anaya 2004).
Throughout CSW, Indigenous women were constantly creating spaces to come together. Side events were a big part of this, bringing people into the same room to share experiences and strategies around self determination and participation in decision making (Charters and Stavenhagen 2009). But it was also in the smaller moments. Badges, shared symbols and even just recognising each other across rooms created a sense of connection and visibility. Those things might seem minor, but they helped keep these issues present in a space where attention is often limited.
What this also showed me is how these conversations connect to bigger questions about global governance. A lot of traditional frameworks focus on states, borders and conflict. But the issues being raised by Indigenous women, like violence, community safety and the ongoing impacts of colonisation, do not always fit neatly into those categories. Expanding who is seen as a political actor changes what gets recognised as a priority. In that sense, these conversations are not outside of global governance, they are part of reshaping how we understand it.
There was also a sense of momentum. The conversations were not about whether Indigenous women should be included, but how that inclusion can happen in practice. That shift felt important. It reflects the broader influence of UNDRIP, not just as a declaration, but as something that continues to shape expectations and approaches within international spaces (Davis 2007).
What I took away from CSW is that change in multilateralism does not always come from big, formal outcomes. It also comes from people showing up, building relationships and continuing to push conversations forward over time. Indigenous women are doing this in ways that are steady, visible and grounded in community.
Those small acts of coming together are not separate from global governance, they are part of how it evolves.
References
Anaya S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. Oxford University Press 2004.
Charters Claire and Rodolfo Stavenhagen. Making the Declaration Work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs 2009.
Davis Megan. “The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Australian Indigenous Law Review 11 no. 3 2007: 55–63.
Lightfoot Sheryl. Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution. Routledge 2016.
United Nations General Assembly. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Resolution 61/295 adopted 13 September 2007.
[1] About the author
Zyarna Leefe (Rongomaiwahine, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Ngāpuhi) holds a Bachelor of International Relations and a Master of International Law and Diplomacy from the Australian National University, where she was awarded the Dean's Prize for Outstanding Achievement in a Masters Program in Law. Her research examined how international institutions and legal instruments shape Indigenous self-determination, focusing on the domestic implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Aotearoa and Canada. She is an Advisor at Aestra where she supports the delivery of complex environmental and governance reform projects, including partnering with Traditional Owners to develop on-Country restoration plans. She has represented youth internationally, including at the 2025 G20 Youth Summit and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
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