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A landmark judgement in the fight to eradicate manual scavenging

The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that the continuance of manual scavenging in the country is in blatant violation of Article 17 of the Constitution of India by which, “untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden”. The court was emphatic about the duty cast on all states and union territories “to fully implement the law and to take action against the violators”.

March 31st, 2014|Access to justice, Caste-based slavery, Manual Scavenging|

Member states urged to address caste discrimination at UN Human Rights Council

The European Parliament are urging EU member states to address caste discrimination at the March session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC25), currently underway. IDSN has issued recommendations for the HRC25 and Navi Pillay and Ban Ki-moon mention caste in their contributions to the council session.

March 19th, 2014|European Union|

Dalit women in India stage month-long march for justice

For a full month Dalit women have marched in India to fight the vicious cycle of caste and gender discrimination that severely restricts the lives of Dalit women and subjects them to violence, rape and violations of their basic human rights in almost every sphere. They are marching to empower other Dalit women to stand up for themselves and join in the fight and they are demanding justice.

March 19th, 2014|Access to justice, Dalit Women, India|

IDSN Annual Report 2013 released

The IDSN Annual Report sums up significant developments in the struggle against caste discrimination in 2013.

March 12th, 2014|European Union, Programme, United Nations|

Drought in Pakistan kills over 100 children – many are Dalits

Urgent and sustainable relief is needed for Dalits residing in the Thar desert who are repeatedly struck by drought. Over 100 children have died in this last drought and the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network have issued a press release calling for action to address the cause of these humanitarian catastrophes in Thar and find sustainable solutions to protect Dalits from droughts in future.

March 10th, 2014|Dalit Children, Humanitarian Aid, Pakistan|

South Asian parliamentarians join together to fight caste discrimination

Parliamentarians from India, Nepal and Bangladesh have formed the ‘South Asian Parliamentary Forum’ (SAPF) to combat caste discrimination, at the historic ‘South Asia Parliamentarians Conference on Dalit Concerns’ in Kathmandu 8-9th December.

February 4th, 2014|Political Participation, South Asia|

UNICEF: Dalit girls most excluded from primary education in India

A report just released by UNICEF and UNESCO on out of school children in India highlights that Dalit girls have the highest primary school exclusion rate in India. The report also finds that half of the Pre-School age Dalit children are not attending school.

January 30th, 2014|Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, India|

Aid institutions gather in Delhi for launch of caste discrimination in disaster relief report

Key humanitarian actors including UNDP, ECHO, the Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network, USAID and DFID gathered in New Delhi for the launch of the report “Equality in Aid – Addressing Caste Discrimination in Humanitarian Response”.

January 29th, 2014|Humanitarian Aid, India|

Dalits: Government must take immediate action to pass caste legislation

Dalits in India have united to issue an urgent appeal to the Indian Government to take immediate action on passing pending legislation amending the Prevention of Atrocities act, meant to stop atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis (tribals) in India. They are also asking the Government to approve a bill to ensure the proper allocation and distribution of budgets for Dalits and Adivasis.

January 29th, 2014|Access to justice, India, Political Participation|

Americans Declare Empathy with Dalits at US Congress event

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.

January 27th, 2014|Diaspora|