The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is set to examine the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women across Canada, two groups that requested an inquiry into the issue said today (December 13).

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) formally requested in January and September 2011 that the UN committee launch an inquiry into the more than 600 documented cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada.

Sharon McIvor, a member of FAFIA, said the committee has decided to initiate an inquiry into the issue.

“We see this as a positive step, given what’s happening with the Oppal inquiry, where regular people aren’t allowed to go and tell about their interaction with the state,” she told the Straight by phone from Merritt, B.C.

However, Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose denied that the committee has launched an investigation.

In response to a question from NDP MP Linda Duncan in the House of Commons, Ambrose said the government has received a letter from the United Nations committee and is responding to it.

"I understand from foreign affairs that two civil society groups have made a request to a United Nations committee," she said. "The committee is looking into it and will be discussing it in February."

According to McIvor, FAFIA originally brought the issue of missing and murdered women to the United Nations CEDAW committee about four years ago. The committee flagged the problem in 2008 and called on Canada to “urgently carry out thorough investigations of the cases of Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in recent decades”.

The committee, comprised of 23 independent experts from around the world, is authorized to investigate allegations of "grave or systematic" violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The committee has previously launched an inquiry into missing and murdered women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

According to data collected by NWAC, over 600 aboriginal women and girls have gone missing across Canada during a period of about 20 years, and the organization believes there may be many more undocumented cases.

NWAC president Jeannette Corbiere Lavell noted in a press release today that aboriginal women in Canada experience rates of violence 3.5 times higher than non-aboriginal women, and young aboriginal women are five times more likely to die of violence.

“The response of law enforcement and other government officials has been slow, often dismissive of reports made by family members of missing women, uncoordinated and generally inadequate,” claimed Lavell.

“We see the state’s response to aboriginal women going missing as a non-response, and that has to be addressed,” said McIvor. “These women, even if they’re drug-addicted, even if they’re prostitutes and they’re so poor that they can’t see themselves, they still deserve the state’s protection, and the state doesn’t seem to think that that’s necessary.”

Ambrose said during question period that the federal government has launched a strategy on missing and murdered aboriginal women, which includes the creation of a new RCMP centre for missing persons and a national website to help locate missing women.

If the inquiry moves forward, McIvor noted groups like FAFIA will be working to raise funds to ensure families of missing and murdered women can address the committee.

McIvor said the groups expect the Canadian government to consent to an inquiry.

“The world’s eyes are going to be on Canada and Canada has a chance now to live up to their international human rights reputation,” she said.