MKO making it easy to read the MMIWG Calls to Justice

On July 1, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. began a daily commitment to post on its Facebook page a Call to Justice from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

This commitment breaks down the recommendations, released in the report June 3, into manageable items in an effort to encourage people to “find at least one recommendation to implement in their daily lives—there is truly something for everyone in the report,” said MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee.

MKO will eventually share all of the Calls to Justice with a post every day until Dec. 5.

The first post was the first Call to Justice on Human and Indigenous Rights and Governmental Obligations:

1.1 We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous governments (hereinafter “all governments”), in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, to develop and implement a National Action Plan to address violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as recommended in our Interim Report and in support of existing recommendations by other bodies of inquiry and other reports.

As part of the National Action Plan, we call upon all governments to ensure that equitable access to basic rights such as employment, housing, education, safety, and health care is recognized as a fundamental means of protecting Indigenous and human rights, resourced and supported as rights-based programs founded on substantive equality. All programs must be no-barrier, and must apply regardless of Status or location.

Governments should:

i Table and implement a National Action Plan that is flexible and distinctions-based, and that includes regionally specific plans with devoted funding and timetables for implementation that are rooted in the local cultures and communities of diverse Indigenous identities, with measurable goals and necessary resources dedicated to capacity building, sustainability, and long-term solutions.

ii Make publicly available on an annual basis reports of ongoing actions and developments in measurable goals related to the National Action Plan.

If readers want to follow the MKO efforts, follow the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MKONorth.

The Final Report of the National Inquiry, can be accessed online here: https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/