Universal Periodic Review Working Group – 16th Session
Universal Periodic Review of Canada
26 April 2013
Australia commends the Government of Canada for its strong commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. Australia welcomes the work Canada has done in implementing recommendations of its 2009 UPR, including its national action plan to combat trafficking in persons, and ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Australia welcomes initiatives to monitor and reduce the prevalence of violence against Indigenous women. We particularly welcome the new National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains and the improvements to the Canadian Police Information Centre database. However, we are concerned that key information concerning the Aboriginality of victims of crime may not be consistently captured in these databases, leading to skewed data on the scale of the issue. Australia recommends that Canada implement measures to ensure that the Aboriginality of victims of gender-based violence is accurately recorded.
Australia appreciates the close working relationship it has with Canada in many multilateral organisations, including the UN. We would welcome Canada joining Australia as a signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, as signalled in Canada’s response to the recommendations from its first UPR. Australia recommends that Canada sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.