Inuit organizations back United Nations
Call for national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, March 16, 2015
IQALUIT
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami came out in support March 10 of findings in a new report from the United Nations which calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
"This report is very timely. We recently attended the first national roundtable on the issue and we are pleased with the first steps that were agreed to. It's a beginning," stated Pauktuutit president Rebecca Kudloo in a news release. "In particular, this report reinforces the need to address the underlying socioeconomic factors that make us uniquely vulnerable to violence and abuse."
The report, released March 6, found Canada in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which requires Canada to remove all discrimination against women in law, policy and practice.
"We add our voice to the call for a national inquiry but insist that an inquiry be truly national in scope and demonstrate awareness of the specific circumstances of Arctic communities," stated Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Terry Audla.
