A/HRC/27/52/Add.2 2. Missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls 34. Indigenous women and girls are also disproportionately victims of violent crime. The Native Women’s Association of Canada has documented over 660 cases of women and girls across Canada who have gone missing or been murdered in the last 20 years, many of which remain unresolved, although the exact number of unresolved cases remains to be determined. Since 1996, there have been at least 29 official inquiries and reports dealing with aspects of this issue, which have resulted in over 500 recommendations for action.20 35. To address this severe problem, in 2010 the federal Government implemented a seven-point plan, which includes a mix of law enforcement and justice initiatives, as well as funding for victim and family support and prevention and awareness programmes. One part of the plan, which involves the identification of best practices in policing and the justice system in interactions with aboriginal women, resulted in the creation in March 2012 of an online searchable Compendium of Promising Practices to Reduce Violence and Increase Safety of Aboriginal Women in Canada. Further, over the last decade, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s federal police force, has established integrated projects, units and task forces in Manitoba, British Columbia and Alberta to review unsolved homicides and missing persons cases. 36. There has also been action at the provincial level. For example, Manitoba has implemented legislative changes to improve investigative powers in missing persons cases and protect victims of trafficking, and has engaged in a number of consultations and awareness-raising efforts and funded anti-violence programmes. Ontario now includes persons missing for more than a month in their major crimes database, and the provincial police force has established an internal working group to link analysis, prevention and investigative efforts across the organization. Likewise, the Saskatchewan police have a provincial database on missing persons, which identifies aboriginal and non-aboriginal persons, and the province has a unique Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons, which coordinates policy and public awareness development between aboriginal groups, the police and the justice system, and with non-governmental agencies. 37. Nevertheless, these efforts and any positive results from them have not, at least yet, abated continuing calls for greater and more effective action to address the problem of missing indigenous women and girls. During his visit to Canada, the Special Rapporteur heard consistent, insistent calls across the country for a comprehensive, nationwide inquiry, organized in consultation with indigenous peoples, that could provide an opportunity for the voices of the victims’ families to be heard, deepen understanding of the magnitude and systemic dimensions of the issue, and identify best practices that could lead to an adequately coordinated response. C. Self-government and participation 1. Self-government arrangements 38. By all accounts, strengthening indigenous peoples’ self-government is essential to improving their social and economic situation and sustaining healthy communities. A 2011 assessment by the federal Government of the achievements and problems of its selfgovernment policy concluded that self-governing indigenous nations enjoy improved outcomes in educational achievement and employment levels. In that regard, the Special 20 Native Women’s Association of Canada, List of reports and recommendations on violence against indigenous women and girls (27 March 2013). 11