An interim report from an international group hired to provide advice on identifying and locating the unmarked graves of children who attended residential schools says Canada should continue funding searches beyond 2025.

The report from the International Commission on Missing Persons, based in The Hague, covers the work it has done so far and suggests next steps.

The report also recommends Ottawa ratify the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Ottawa signed a technical agreement with the commission last year to work with Indigenous communities that want to search for possible unmarked graves.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools across Canada.

A national movement to find and commemorate unmarked graves began after ground-penetrating radar detected possible remains at the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia in 2021.