Honouring the Children
Source: KAIROS Canada
Summary: The threats to the human rights and flourishing of Indigenous peoples in Canada must not be understated. Failure to uphold both the honour of the Crown and the best interest of the child must end. With this in mind, “Honouring the Child” offers a series of recommendations to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration on the occasion of Canada’s periodic review.
These include the recommendations that:
- Canada act immediately on the recommendations put forward by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular those relevant to Indigenous children, and that the Committee engage a special study on Canada’s implementation of the UNCRC with respect to the rights of Indigenous children.
- Canada work in collaboration with Indigenous peoples in Canada on the full and effective implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular those articles relevant to Indigenous children.
- Canada work with Indigenous peoples to allocate and structure sufficient financial, material and human resources to ensure the safety, full enjoyment of education, and cultural and linguistic rights of Indigenous children, as well as devising and implementing a comprehensive strategy and action plan to ensure that Indigenous housing is improved to a decent and healthy standard.
- Canada in full partnership with Indigenous peoples, act immediately to ensure that government jurisdictional disputes do not impede or delay Indigenous children from receiving government services available to other children.
- Canada act immediately to establish, in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, a national, independent mechanism empowered to implement reforms, and available to receive, investigate and respond to reports of individual and systemic child rights violation.
- Canada base future governance and land rights discussions on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which includes the recognition that Aboriginal peoples are nations vested with the right of self-determination, and that federal, provincial, and territorial governments, through negotiations, provide Aboriginal nations with lands that are sufficient in size and quality to foster Aboriginal economic self-reliance and cultural and political autonomy.
- Canada ensures its domestic laws, government policies and practices are fully consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and implements immediate and effective measures to ensure indigenous children, young people and families are aware of their rights under the Convention.