Descendants of prominent African American families, who led the civil rights movement, presented a Declaration of Empathy to the US congress. The declaration appeals to all Americans to stand in solidarity with the Dalits of South Asia to fight caste discrimination and caste-based slavery.
The Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs has promised to take active measures in fighting caste discrimination. His statements came at an event organised by the Dalit Solidarity Network in Finland (DSN-Fi), which formed part of an impressive campaign week by DSN-Fi.
Following yesterday’s vote in the House of Commons against outlawing caste discrimination, campaigners - including the Dalit Solidarity Network UK - have vowed to continue their struggle to make this form of discrimination illegal.
During a review by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 23 and 24 August, the UK delegation said that there was "no consensus" on the need for prohibiting caste discrimination in the UK. Furthermore, the Government had “not made a decision” on the findings of a government-commissioned report, which concludes that caste discrimination exists in the UK. "Why are you so afraid?" a CERD Committee member asked during the dialogue.
In a report stressing the need for better protection against discrimination for Roma and victims of caste systems, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Mr. Githu Muigai, warns that the rights of an estimated 250 million people across the globe are at risk because they are subjected to discrimination on the basis of caste or other social systems based on inherited status.
IDSN have launched a YouTube Channel on www.youtube.com/IDSNVideo
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