The Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) alongside allied NGOs have released a statement to speak out on Canada’s failure to comply with its human rights obligations.
Canada has a long history of racism targeting Indigenous Peoples and communities of colour, including the enslavement of people of African descent, and various forms of legislated racism targeting Chinese, South Asian and other communities of colour. Even today, Canada continues to fail to abide by its promise to fully eliminate discrimination.
We ask the UN CERD Committee to adopt an intersectional approach to examining the impact of racism on different racialized communities in Canada. We ask the UN to pay particular attention to the intersection between race and gender and gender identity as it affects Indigenous communities and communities of colour.
It is time for our federal government to take leadership with CERD.