Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women get UN Attention

The committee asked Canada to report back in one year on steps taken to address the failure of law-enforcement agencies to deal with the disappearance and murder of Aboriginal women and girls as well as inadequate social assistance rates across the country.
“The high level of violence against Aboriginal women was shocking to the UN committee,” said Sharon McIvor, an Aboriginal women’s leader, and co-chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action.
“The committee has urged Canada to establish an inquiry into the 511 Aboriginal women and girls who are missing or murdered and to remedy deficiencies in the law-enforcement system. Poor social and economic conditions of Aboriginal women in Canada were also a major concern,” said McIvor.