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« Who Gets to Belong ? » 

This summer, the Observatory on Human Rights at the United Nations, based at the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa, will undertake a mission to Geneva and Cambridge focused on Indigenous women's experiences of identity, belonging, and legal recognition. The delegation will present its research, screen a documentary, and engage with international partners at the United Nations, diplomatic missions, and the University of Cambridge.

Under the leadership of Professor Pascale Fournier, Founding Director of the Observatory, the delegation brings together students, recent graduates, researchers, and partners from the Observatory's Leadership Program. Organized in collaboration with Mélanie Vincent, Founder and Executive Director of KWE! Meet with Indigenous Peoples and a collaborator of the Observatory, the mission forms part of a broader initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The initiative seeks to advance dialogue on Indigenous rights, identity, belonging, and legal recognition while providing students with hands-on experience engaging with international institutions.

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Members of the delegation include Civil Law Section students and recent graduates Océane Chabanol, Harleen Kaur Jawanda, Laurence Laperriere, Mateo Alejandro Porras Gil, and Haylee Reid, who will contribute to the mission's research activities, discussions, and international exchanges.

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At the heart of the mission is Who Gets to Belong?, a documentary produced by KWE! Meet with Indigenous Peoples in active collaboration with the Observatory's student leaders. The film explores the experiences of Indigenous women affected by sex-based discrimination under the Indian Act and examines how the transmission of legal status shapes identity and community belonging across generations. It features the testimonies of several Indigenous women, including Observatory Pilots Jeannette Corbiere Lavell and Dr. Dawn Memee Lavell-Harvard.