JINHA

NEWS CENTER – The UN has sharply criticized Canada's lack of action on the violence against indigenous women, which is 4.5 times higher than for other groups in the country.

Over 1,000 indigenous women were killed in Canada from 1980 to 2012, with 167 more still missing—and that is just according to official figures. Racism from police, juries and judges has resulted in insufficient action on violence against indigenous women and a state of near impunity for their killers. Recently, trucker Bradley Barton was found not guilty in the case of the murder of First Nations woman Cindy Gladue. Bradley had stated openly in court that he caused the wound from which Cindy bled to death, but went free in March, spurring protests by women in 14 cities.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found Canada in grave violation of indigenous women's human rights.

Speaking with the Guardian, UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, said that Canada has not responded to the UN's seven-year demand that Canada conduct a national inquiry into the wave of violence against indigenous women. “It isn’t really high on our radar, to be honest," said Prime Minister Steven Harper several months ago regarding the idea. Minister of women's affairs Kellie Leitch echoed the statement.

Indigenous women in Canada have continued organizing against the wave of violence, pushing for the UN-called special inquiry as well as for more concrete measures to serve indigenous women, like funding for women's organizations. On Mother's Day, women marched and gathered in cities across Canada—including Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton—to honor the missing and murdered women.

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