• SR on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian following her mission to Madagascar (10-19 December 2012): Read the UN News release and reportA/HRC/24/43/Add.2. The Special Rapporteur, amongst others, made the following recommendation:

164. The issue of caste discrimination should be addressed openly, not as a taboo; in this way, issues relating to vulnerability to poverty and slavery-like practices may also be dealt with in a comprehensive manner. The Government, civil society organizations and the international community must work with local communities to eradicate the stigma that the descendants of slaves experience, by means of programmes, technical expertise and the funding of projects to combat caste discrimination