Friday, June 3rd, 2022 marks the first anniversary of the launch of the National Action Plan on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. However, in the past year, very little has been done to put words in action and actually implement the plan.
Today, the National Family and Survivors Circle (NFSC) reminds all governments, including Indigenous governments, agencies, institutions, organizations, and industries, that the 231 Calls for Justice are legal imperatives – they are not optional. The cost of inaction is human lives. Indigenous peoples are frustrated by rhetoric and empty promises made by those with responsibility to act.
In the National Action Plan, the National Family and Survivors Circle stressed the need for accountability and recourse mechanisms which focus on Indigenous human rights and inherent, Treaty, and Constitutional rights. We continue to advocate for concrete actions, clear timelines, and measurable outcomes.
An Accountability Framework is imperative in ensuring the Calls for Justice are actioned in a way that dismantles colonial structures and ends the genocide. An Independent oversight body must be at arm’s length of all governments, including Indigenous governments, agencies, institutions, and organizations and must have the legal authority to require reports from all governments, including Indigenous governments, agencies, institutions, and organizations who have responsibility to implement the 231 Calls for Justice and the National Action Plan.
These structures and processes must be inclusive of families of MMIWG, survivors of gender-based violence, and Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Recourse is a related mechanism for addressing rights violations and abuses. Call for Justice 1.7 called for the creation of a National Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson and a National Indigenous Human Rights Tribunal responsible for accountability and recourse. In the 2021 NAP, the NFSC called for the establishment of the Tribunal before June 3rd, 2022.
We all have a shared responsibility and accountability for ending all forms of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Every day that we wait for action, Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people continue to be murdered, go missing, or experience violence at an alarming rate, perpetuating a cycle where another generation must recover from violence. Political and social will is imperative for the success of the National Action Plan in response to the 231 Calls for Justice.
On June 3rd, join the NFSC in calling on all governments, including Indigenous governments, agencies, institutions, organizations, and industries to uphold their promises to ensure concrete actions and measurable outcomes to prevent the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people . Together, let’s make June 3rd a Day of Action that focuses on accountability.
“The steps to end and redress this genocide must be no less monumental than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain colonial violence for generations” (MMIWG National Inquiry Report, Volume B, p167).
We are all part of the solution.
Note: We recognize this day might be challenging and traumatic for families and survivors of gender-based violence, and we encourage you to seek support if you need it. For immediate mental and emotional wellness support, please contact the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ toll-free support phone line (1-844-413-6649) or the First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line (1-855-242-3310). Service is available 24/7.
