Investigate cases of murdered, missing native women: UN

THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA - The United Nations is calling on the Harper government to investigate why hundreds of deaths and disappearances of aboriginal women remain unsolved. A UN committee on discrimination against women has asked Canada to report back in a year on more than 500 cases. It says Canada should urgently assess failures to fully investigate, and whether racism played a role. The committee also wants Ottawa to set minimum standards for welfare to better protect the most vulnerable citizens across Canada. Federal and provincial justice ministers said last September that they're improving how missing-person cases are handled, especially those involving native women. The UN also raises alarms about lack of shelters for battered women, and Conservative government cuts that wiped out the Court Challenges Program - funding that helped advance minority rights.