UN treaty body reviews of India
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - India 2007
The CERD Committee has expressed serious concern about the persistance of caste discrimination in India in its Concluding Observations in 2007 and 1996.
Below is a list of shadow reports, press statements and notes from the latest review at the 70th CERD session, 23 and 26 February 2007:
Read the full text of the Concluding Observations
- India's Hidden Apartheid by the Centre for Human Rights & Global Justice, NYU School of Law and Human Rights Watch - CERD India 2007
- CERD alternative report by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights - India 2007
- Making Things Worse - tsunami report commissioned by Dalit Network Netherlands
- Other NGO shadow reports on India submitted to ICERD in 2007 (link to CERD website)
- Joint press statement by Human Rights Watch, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and International Dalit Solidarity Network - CERD India 2007
- Press statement by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights
- United Nations press release on the CERD reveiw of India
- Civil society statements and reflections on CERD's review of India
- Factsheet - the Committee's response to the review
In the Concluding Observations (CERD/C/IND/CO/19) of the CERD review of India in 2007, the Committee expressed deep concern about the de facto discrimination against the 170 million Dalits in the country, and regretted the government's position that caste discrimination falls outside the scope of the "descent" limb of the CERD Convention.
8. The Committee takes note of the State party’s position that discrimination based on caste falls outside the scope of article 1 of the Convention. However, after an extensive exchange of views with the State party, the Committee maintains its position expressed in general recommendation No. 29 “that discrimination based on ‘descent’ includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights.”[1] Therefore, the Committee reaffirms that discrimination based on the ground of caste is fully covered by article 1 of the Convention.
27. The Committee notes with concern that caste bias as well as racial and ethnic prejudice and stereotypes are still deeply entrenched in the minds of wide segments of Indian society, particularly in rural areas. (art. 7)The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to eradicate the social acceptance of caste-based discrimination and racial and ethnic prejudice, e.g. by intensifying public education and awareness-raising campaigns, incorporating educational objectives of inter-caste tolerance and respect for other ethnicities, as well as instruction on the culture of scheduled castes and scheduled and other tribes, in the National Curriculum Framework, and ensuring adequate media representation of issues concerning scheduled castes, tribes and ethnic minorities, with a view to achieving true social cohesion among all ethnic groups, castes and tribes of India.
The Government of India is requested to submit its next periodic reports to CERD before 4 January 2012.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - India 1996
In August 1996, the CERD Committee considered India’s consolidated tenth to fourteenth periodic reports and issued its Concluding Observations (CERD/C/304/Add.13) in September 1996.
This was the first time that the Government of India sought to establish that discrimination related to caste did not fall within the scope of ICERD or within the jurisdiction of the Committee. The Indian Government's position concerning the interpretation of the term 'descent' covered in article 1(1) of the Convention was that "the use of the term ‘descent’ in the Convention clearly refers to ‘race’. Communities which fall under the definition of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are unique to Indian society and its historical process. … it is, therefore, submitted that the policies of the Indian Government relating to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes do not come under the purview of Article 1 of the Convention."
In the course of discussion of the report in the Committee, the Indian delegation said that India’s report “had focused on matters relating to race as distinct from other categorizations referred to in the Constitution. … Constitutionally, the concept of race was distinct from caste. … To confer a racial character on the caste system would create considerable political problems which could not be the Committee’s intention. In the spirit of dialogue, however, India was prepared to provide more information on matters other than race, without prejudice to its understanding of the term ‘race’ in the Convention.”
Abstracts of CERD Concluding Observations - India 1996
A number of CERD members challenged the Indian Government’s interpretation of the term ‘descent’ and expressed this concern in its concluding observations, along with observations on the non-implementation of legislation to abolish the practice of 'untocuhability' (CERD/C/304/Add.13):
14. Noting the declaration in paragraph 7 of the report, reiterated in the oral presentation, the Committee states that the term "descent" mentioned in article 1 of the Convention does not solely refer to race. The Committee affirms that the situation of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes falls within the scope of the Convention. It emphasizes its great concern that within the discussion of the report, there was no inclination on the side of the State party to reconsider its position.
23. It is noted that although constitutional provisions and legal texts exist to abolish untouchability and to protect the members of the scheduled castes and tribes, and although social and educational policies have been adopted to improve the situation of members of scheduled castes and tribes and to protect them from abuses, widespread discrimination against them and the relative impunity of those who abuse them point to the limited effect of these measures. The Committee is particularly concerned at reports that people belonging to the scheduled castes and tribes are often prevented from using public wells or from entering cafés or restaurants and that their children are sometimes separated from other children in schools, in violation of article 5 (f) of the Convention.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Examination of INDIA, 7-8 May 2008, CESCR 40th session:
- Link to CESCR website with access to the Government of India's state report, list of issues and other NGO reports
- Alternate Report on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in India by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights - CESCR India 2008
In the Concluding Observations (E/C.12/IND/CO/5), the Committee made several recommendations on the situation of Dalits, including the following:
14. The Committee notes with concern the lack of progress achieved by the State party in combating the persistent de facto caste-based discrimination that continues to prevail in spite of the legal prohibitions in place, most notably the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Committee is particularly concerned at the low rate of prosecution of crimes against persons belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and that discriminatory attitudes and prejudices in the enforcement of the law, especially by the police, is a serious obstacle in the victims’ access to justice.
The State party is requested to submit its sixth periodic report by 30 June
2011.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women- India 2007
Examination of INDIA, 18 January 2007, CEDAW 37th session:
> Download NGO alternative report by Tamil Nadu Women's Forum
In the Concluding Comments (CEDAW/C/IND/CO/3), the Committee notes among other things the following:
28. The Committee is concerned about the ongoing atrocities committed against Dalit women and the culture of impunity for perpetrators of such atrocities. The
Committee is concerned that, despite a law banning manual scavenging, this degrading practice continues with grave implications for the dignity and health of the Dalit women who are engaged in this activity.
29. The Committee recommends that the State party put in place a mechanism to monitor effective enforcement of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act in order to ensure accountability and end impunity for crimes committed against Dalit women. It calls upon the State party to increase Dalit women’s legal literacy and improve their access to justice in bringing claims of discrimination and violation of rights. It requests the State party to report specifically on the impact of such initiatives in its next periodic report. The Committee also urges the State party to study the health implications of manual scavenging on Dalits engaged in this profession and on the community as a whole, and to address all the impediments to eradicating
this practice, including by putting in place modern sanitation facilities and providing the Dalit women engaged in this practice with vocational training
and alternative means of livelihood.
The State Party is requested to submit its fourth periodic report, which was due in August 2006, and its fifth periodic report, which is due in August 2010, in a combined report in 2010.
Committee on the Rights of the Child - India 2000
India was examined by the CRC in 2000, where the Committee made the following recommendations in the Concluding Observations (CRC/C/15/ADD.115):
30. In the light of article 2 of the Convention, the Committee is concerned at the existence of caste-based discrimination and discrimination against tribal groups, despite these practices being prohibited under the law.
31. In accordance with article 17 of the Constitution and article 2 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure states abolish the discriminatory practice of “untouchability”, prevent caste- and tribe-motivated abuse, and prosecute State and private actors who are responsible for such practices or abuses. Moreover, in compliance with article 46 of the Constitution, the State party is encouraged to implement, inter alia, affirmative measures to advance and protect these groups. The Committee recommends the full implementation of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the 1995 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Rules (Prevention of Atrocities) and the 1993 Employment of Manual Scavengers Act. The Committee encourages the State party to continue its efforts to carry out comprehensive public education campaigns to prevent and combat caste-based discrimination. In line with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Disrimination (CERD/C/304/Add.13), the Committee stresses the importance of the equal enjoyment by members of these groups of the rights in the Convention, including access to health care, education, work, and public places and services, such as wells.
Committee on the Rights of the Child - India 2004
Again in 2004 the Committee reiterated its concern in the Concluding Observations (CRC/C/15/ADD.228):
27. The Committee is deeply concerned at persistent and significant social discrimination against children belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes and other tribal groups, reflected, inter alia, by the many violations of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the low number of such violations dealt with by the courts, and the fact that a majority of the states have failed to set up the special courts provided for under this Act.
The State party should submit its next 3rd and 4th periodic reports on 10 July 2008. The dates for the examination of India before the CRC has not yet been scheduled, but is expected to take place in 2010 or 2011.
