Canada: UN expert praises new bill recognizing rights of Indigenous women

GENEVA (28 August 2019) – The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Simonovic, welcomes the Canadian Government’s introduction of a bill which removes sexual discrimination from a federal law dealing with Indigenous peoples.

Prior to the entry into force of the S-3 Bill on 15 August 2019, provisions within the Indian Act meant women lost their status when they married non-Indigenous men, while men who married non-Indigenous women kept their status.

During a visit to Canada in April 2018, Simonovic urged the Government to urgently repeal all remaining discriminatory provisions in the Indian Act and any other discriminatory national laws and practices against Indigenous women and girls.

“For decades, First Nations women and their descendants have faced sex-based discrimination that has been perpetuated by these provisions, constituting a violation of international and national gender equality standards,” said the UN expert.

“The removal of the sex-based hierarchy entrenched in the Indian Actis a pivotal step toward achieving gender equality, and finally brings to an end the long story of discrimination and violence that Indigenous women and girls have faced in the country.”

Simonovic praised the tireless work of civil society organisations who have advocated for decades to withdraw all the discriminatory provisions included in the Indian Act.

ENDS