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press release -report international inquiry.pdf

Kahnawake, December 14, 2011 - Quebec Native Women (QNW) whishes to denounce the unsatisfactory and inconclusive recommendations of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women investigating the issue of violence against Aboriginal women. The final report, released yesterday, makes a clean sweep of all the gains made in previous parliamentary sessions in the interim report that had been endorsed by all parties. This final report illustrates once again the contempt with which the Harper government treats all Aboriginal issues even though the issue of violence against Aboriginal women in Canada has gained an international dimension. 
"It is shameful that in 2011, we are still forced to go through the United Nations to make our voices heard and to have our human rights respected here in Canada," said Michèle Audette, President of QNW. "We therefore welcome the announcement by the Native Women Association of Canada of an investigation by United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the situation of Aboriginal women in Canada. " 
The recommendations of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women are indeed weak and inconsistent. It is proposed to remedy the situation with the existing services and budgets. No reinforcement of the police is specifically designed to manage the issue of Aboriginal women. In addition, all references to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Canada's obligation to respect the rights that are listed have been eliminated from the final text, while Canada is a signatory of the Declaration since last November. 
Yet, given the urgency of the situation of Aboriginal women in Canada the time to make only vague proposals has past. Indeed, there are at least 600 known cases of Aboriginal women that have disappeared or been murdered over the past 20 years. In July 2011, the leaders of the Assembly of First Nations asked for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal girls and women during their General Assembly in Moncton. QNW has in addition called many times for a comprehensive Action Plan, at the National and Provincial levels, to fight against violence against Aboriginal women. 
Since the government seems to turn a deaf ear to repeated requests of Aboriginal women groups and refuses to take into account their expertise, in violation of any democratic process and consultation efforts undertaken by the Parliamentary Committee earlier, QNW stands therefore ready to answer any demands made by an International human right body that will inquire into the violence against Aboriginal women in order to inform them of the situation in Quebec.- 30 – 
For more information : Aurélie Arnaud, Communications Officer
Tel. : 450-632-0088, ext. 227
communication@faq-qnw.org
www.faq-qnw.org