UN urged to investigate violence against Indigenous women in Canada

Attorney J.R. Howell filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, calling for an independent investigation into violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada, according to PR Newswire.

The complaint cites failures by Canadian law enforcement to search a landfill where the remains of Ashlee Shingoose, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois were disposed of by a serial killer. It also highlights the unresolved case of Tanya Nepinak. Howell argues the lack of response reflects systemic racism, gender-based violence and cultural genocide. He calls for an urgent U.N. investigation, listening sessions in First Nations territories and international oversight into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.