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UN special rapporteurs planning to investigate Canada HR record

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United Nations special rapporteurs on the rights of Indigenous Peoples are planning to investigate Canada’s human rights record amid growing concerns over the mistreatment of aboriginals by the Ottawa government.

Three UN special rapporteurs will travel to Canada as early as summer to probe into alleged rights violations against indigenous people and aboriginal women in the North American country.

Joseph Lavoie, a spokesman for Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, said “Canada will accept these visits. They will happen later this year.”

Earlier in mid March, Canada rejected repeated calls from the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, to make an official visit to the North American country.

Anaya said that the federal government continues to turn down his year-old request to visit Canada in an attempt to investigate the “human rights situation of Indigenous peoples,” according to a February 20 letter sent to the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC).

The letter added that Anaya initially made the request in February 2012 and he is still waiting for a response from Ottawa. He has written the federal government at least three times to be permitted to visit Canada.

The government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is under fire for its violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in Canada.

Many of Canada’s natives live in poor conditions with unsafe drinking water, inadequate housing, addiction, and high suicide rates.

Analysts say that human rights abuses in Canada have increased dramatically during Harper’s government.

In a report released on December 19, 2012, Amnesty International asked Canada to address human rights abuses in the country, particularly with respect to the rights of indigenous peoples.

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