A/HRC/41/42/Add.1
(e)
In the light of the Special Rapporteur’s findings, there is an urgent need
for a more comprehensive and holistic national action plan on violence against women,
ensuring that women and girls in all areas of the country have access to comparable
levels of services and human rights protection. The Government of Canada should
therefore adopt, in cooperation with independent human rights institutions and civil
society organizations, a national action plan on violence against women and domestic
violence, based on human right standards on prevention, services and the prosecution
of violence against women accepted by Canada, such as the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and general
recommendation No. 35 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women;
(f)
Adopt a national action plan on violence against indigenous women or
formulate it as a separate part of the recommended national action plan on violence
against women and domestic violence, and ensure that this national action plan
provides the same level of protection nationwide based on the implementation of
international human rights standards and the recommendations contained in the 2015
report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW/C/OP.8/CAN/1).
96.
Concerning the situation of violence against indigenous women, the Special
Rapporteur also reiterates her full endorsement of previous recommendations of the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and calls for their
full implementation. In particular, she recommends that the Government of Canada:
(a)
Urgently repeal the remaining provisions in the Indian Act and any
other national law and practices that discriminate against indigenous women and girls;
(b)
Adopt measures to improve the socioeconomic conditions of indigenous
women and girls and provide adequate funding to support dedicated indigenous-based
holistic community support services;
(c)
Review family laws and the Divorce Act to ensure that domestic violence
is given primary consideration when a decision about child custody occurs and that
protection orders are easily enforceable in all provinces and territories, while
guaranteeing the freedom of movement to survivors;
(d)
Take the legislative or other measures necessary to ensure that a woman
victim of violence is not criminalized when seeking State protection and that the
exercise of any visitation or custody rights does not jeopardize the rights and safety of
the women who are victims of violence, or their children;
(e)
Review, through a gender lens, gun control legislation in order to
harmonize it with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women;
(f)
As enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, provide awareness-raising and training programmes
on women’s rights and violence against women, including on sexual violence and
harassment, addressed to law enforcement officials, social and health workers,
teachers and the general public, including information and guidelines on the specific
needs of indigenous women, LGBTQ2 individuals, women with disabilities and other
women belonging to groups that are a target of violence;
(g)
Strengthen existing coordination mechanisms on human rights or
establish a new coordinating mechanism (composed of federal, provincial and
territorial ministers for human rights) for the coordination and implementation of
human rights obligations and recommendations arising from international and
regional human rights mechanisms (United Nations treaty bodies, special procedures,
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and independent human rights
commissions), with the constructive participation of civil society and indigenous
representatives;
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