UNICEF Canada supports and advocates for the universal and inherent rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in Canada. We support the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide through UNICEF. UNICEF Canada dedicates ourselves to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada, guided by these rights and by our responsibilities to uphold them for and with children, families, communities and the people of Canada.

UNICEF Canada acknowledges that we live and work on the traditional, ancestral territories and nations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples.

UNICEF Canada has embarked on a journey of reconciliation that began with our awareness of the impact that colonial actions and the violation of rights had, and continue to have, on Indigenous Peoples. We are committed to advancing awareness, acknowledgment, atonement and action that build respectful relationships and enable UNICEF Canada to contribute to the self-determined goals of Indigenous Peoples. 

We offer an apology for UNICEF Canada’s role as a bystander during a period when residential schools and other policies, actions and inaction abrogated the rights, dignity and sanctity of Indigenous children, families, communities and societies in Canada. Today, we stand with you and take up our responsibilities to address the inequities that continue to stand in your way and limit Canada’s progress for every child.

UNICEF Canada embraces our responsibilities to advocate for the rights of Indigenous children through partnerships that include policy advocacy, youth empowerment and awareness-raising. We seek to deliver our mandate in respectful collaboration with Indigenous governments, organizations, communities, researchers, advocates and youth.

UNICEF Canada’s journey of reconciliation and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples includes these actions:

  • Providing ongoing awareness, education and engagement opportunities for staff and volunteers to learn about colonialism, Indigenous cultures and rights, and participate in healing and reconciliation.
  • Collaborating with Indigenous organizations and youth to support their goals, including through policy advocacy, in youth events, through educational resources and with U-Report.
  • Building awareness and capacity-building to enable decision-makers to fulfil the rights of Indigenous children, and Indigenous children to claim their rights.

UNICEF Canada is grateful for the forgiveness, guidance and tolerance that Indigenous people have offered us as we walk a path of reconciliation.

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