Today, the Independent Special Interlocutor Released her Final Report and the Indigenous-led Reparations Framework for Missing and Disappeared Children and Unmarked Burials

Press Release

GATINEAU, QUEBEC, October 29, 2024 – The Independent Special Interlocutor, Kimberly R. Murray, officially presented her Final Report and the Indigenous-led Reparations Framework for Missing and Disappeared Children and Unmarked Burials associated with Indian Residential Schools to Survivors and the federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, at the 7th National Gathering on Unmarked Burials.

This report results from two years of intensive engagement with Survivors and Indigenous communities across the country. It marks a crucial step in pursuing justice for the affected families. The official document identifies the legal, moral, and ethical obligations that Canada must fulfill to address the legislative and structural gaps that exist in identifying, protecting, and commemorating missing and disappeared children and their burials.

“The greatest and most important obligation we all have is to the Survivors, who must be honoured and acknowledged for their courage in raising awareness about the painful truths of unmarked burials at Indian Residential Schools and other associated institutions.”, explained Special Interlocutor Kimberly R. Murray.

The Independent Special Interlocutor’s Final Report builds on her November 2022 Progress Update Report and the

June 2023 Interim Report and includes:

• Sites of Truth, Sites of Conscience;
• The two-volume report “Upholding Sacred Obligations: Reparations for Missing and Disappeared Indigenous Children and Unmarked Burials in Canada” made available on the Office of the Special Interlocutor’s website at 1 PM ET on October 29, 2024. The report identifies 42 obligations that governments, churches, and other institutions must meet to implement an Indigenous-led Reparations Framework for Truth, Accountability, Justice, and Reconciliation.
• An Executive Summary of the Final Report.

At the release of the Final Report, Special Interlocutor Murray spoke of several key findings including that many of the missing children have, in fact, been “disappeared” by the State, that there is an urgent need to establish a Commission of Investigations into the Enforced Disappearance of Indigenous Children in Canada, and that there is ‘settler amnesty’ and a culture of impunity in Canada.

The Final Report is now available for public consultation. Journalists and the general public can access the document through the official website of the Independent Special Interlocutor (osi-bis.ca).

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Contact:

Alexandre Maheux

alexandre@osi-bis-communications.ca

(819) 593-9566

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