But Irene Khan says much more needs to be done for aboriginal women facing higher rates of violent death, and over-representation in the sex trade.

Scores of aboriginal women and girls have been found dead or have gone missing in the Edmonton area over the past several years. By some counts, there are hundreds of unsolved murders and disappearances of aboriginal women around the country.

"A lot more, I think, needs to be done to draw attention to it, even from the media. Compared to stories about attacks on non-aboriginal women, the attention given to issues relating to aboriginal women is actually quite poor."

The Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women honoured Khan yesterday for Amnesty's report Stolen Sisters: A Human Response to Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada.

The report strongly condemns racial attitudes that have often left aboriginal women unprotected. It also argues that, in some instances, indigenous women are either attacked or inadequately protected by authorities "expressly because of their indigenous identity."

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