Until fairly recently, ‘Internet governance’ was a term that made people’s eyes glaze over. It has now become one of the most dynamic and challenging topics on the global political agenda. Digitization has escalated exponentially in the past several years, but social, legal and political institutions are struggling to keep pace with the implications. Internet governance will shape the future of global economics, security, communications, and human rights. The question arises: who will lead in the protection of Internet freedom in the digital age?

New police data developed during 2014 show that more than 1,100 indigenous women and girls have disappeared or been murdered in Canada since 1980, double an earlier estimate. The Canadian government has resisted calls for a national inquiry into the violence, and instead has opted for half-measures that do little to address the structural problems underlying the violence.

We write in advance of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’s upcoming review of Ecuador to highlight areas of concern regarding the Ecuadoran government’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This submission is based on the Human Rights Watch report on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Ecuador published in 2013, “Rape Victims as Criminals: Illegal Abortion After Rape in Ecuador” (Annex 1) and is focused on violations of the right to health, which are inconsistent with Article 12 of the Convention.