On February 22 and 23, Canada’s record on combating discrimination will be examined by the United Nations. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the independent expert body that monitors compliance with the international
On February 22 and 23, Canada’s record on combating discrimination will be examined by the United Nations. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the independent expert body that monitors compliance with the international treaty of that same name.
As a signatory to the Convention, Canada is required to report regularly to the Committee on measures taken to comply with its provisions. Canada filed a report to the committee.
More than 35 Indigenous nations, regional and national Indigenous peoples’ organizations, human rights and social justice organizations have filed their alternative reports. These reports address a wide range of concerns that these groups think Canada has failed to address, or address adequately, including violence against Indigenous women, extractive industries on Indigenous lands, the high rates of incarceration of Indigenous peoples, protection of Indigenous peoples’ economic, social and cultural rights, and implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s actions in the international arena to undermine the Declaration and others standards for the protection of Indigenous rights.
Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) says: “International attention is needed because the government of Canada is failing to meet its domestic and international legal obligations address these urgent human rights concerns.”
The Committee urges states to consult with Indigenous peoples’ organizations and NGO