UN panel decries 'dramatic inequalities' in Canada

GENEVA, Mar 10 (Reuters) Canada needs to improve social services for its Aboriginal population, particularly native women who face persistent and marked inequalities, a United Nations panel said.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found there was a ''lack of substantial progress'' in addressing discrimination against native communities within the officially multi-cultural country.

''The Committee remains concerned at the extent of the dramatic inequality in living standards still experienced by Aboriginal peoples,'' it said in a statement released in Geneva.

Stressing that native women make up ''a disproportionate number of victims of violent death, rape and domestic violence'' in Canada, it recommended Ottawa improve services, including shelters and counselling, for victims of gender-based violence.

The committee periodically reviews all signatory states to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Canada's 1.3 million Aboriginal residents make up about 4.4 per cent of the population, and many live in poverty.

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