At the 2nd substantive session of the Durban PrepCom between 6-17 October, IDSN was granted accreditation for the Durban Review Conference in April 2009 despite objections from the Indian Government to its application.

The Indian Government argued that since caste-based discrimination is not mentioned in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), NGOs working on that issue should not be allowed to participate in the conference. France on behalf of the EU opposed this by stating that descent-based discrimination is part of the DDPA, and that caste discrimination falls under the term “descent” in article 1(1) of the ICERD as confirmed by several treaty bodies and Special Rapporteurs. IDSN’s application was considered for over an hour in the plenary session, where several states took the floor arguing in favour of broad NGO participation. After two days of intense negotiations, IDSN’s accreditation was finally secured decision PC. 3./6.

A number of other organisations working on this issue were also accredited at this session, including the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Swadikar from India and the Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organisation (NNDWSO) from Nepal.

IDSN presented two joint statements together with FORUM-ASIA, IMADR, LWF and NCDHR at the 2nd week of the PrepCom.

Read more about caste discrimination and the Durban Review Conference