IACHR Presents Report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada (January 12, 2015) [1]
On January 12, 2015 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented a report [3] entitled, “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada.” The report “analyzes the context in which indigenous women have gone missing and been murdered over the past several years and the response to this human rights issue by the Canadian State,” while also offering recommendations for Canada on protecting indigenous women’s rights. According to the press release [4], the report notes that “[t]he numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women are particularly concerning considering that indigenous people represent a small percentage of the total population of Canada” and that indigenous women are “three times more likely to be victims of violence than non-indigenous women.” The IACHR found that “the police have failed to adequately prevent and protect indigenous women and girls from killings, disappearances and extreme forms of violence, and have failed to diligently and promptly investigate these acts,” but also acknowledged that Canada has made “efforts to address the situation of missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia.”