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Protest march against diversion of funds meant for Dalits

On April 24th thousands of Dalits marched towards the Indian Parliament to reclaim their rights to vast funds meant for Dalits, which have been diverted or misallocated, to benefit other sections of society. The funds could help lift millions of Dalits out of extreme poverty but are instead being used on general schemes, hardly benefitting Dalits. On the 9th of May, Dalits across several states in India, will also march to put pressure on the Government to ensure that funds allocated for Dalits actually benefit Dalits.

April 27th, 2012|Access to justice, India|
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Manual Scavenging highlighted by ILO and others in conferences, reports and a hearing

These past months have seen a flurry of activity to support the struggle to end the abhorrent practice of Dalits being employed to remove human waste from dry latrines manually which persists despite having been officially abolished by law in India since 1993. In India, the ILO has organised a conference to address this problem, a National Public Hearing has been held by the National Campaign for Dignity and Eradication of Manual Scavenging, reports have been released and media have reported widely about the persistence of the practice.

April 27th, 2012|Caste-based slavery, India, Manual Scavenging|
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35 videos documenting caste discrimination across India launched tomorrow

The myth that caste discrimination in India is a thing of the past must be dispelled and on the 14th of April, Video Volunteers launch 35 community videos documenting caste discrimination across 12 states in India, to mark Ambedkar day, the birthday of a Dalit hero who fought for equality and justice for India’s Dalits.

April 13th, 2012|India|
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UN expert concerned about “high levels of impunty” in India

After recently visiting India, the UN expert on extrajudicial executions, Mr. Christof Heyns, expressed concern about the plight of Dalits in India and called on the Government of India to continue to take measures to fight impunity in cases of extrajudicial executions, and communal and traditional killings.

April 10th, 2012|Access to justice, India|
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UPR recommendations: Caste discrimination in India and the UK

India and the UK will be up for review by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council at the 13th UPR session in May. Both countries have been scheduled to take place on the same day, 24 May 2012.

March 30th, 2012|India, UK|
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Dalits still working in bonded labour in the cotton industry despite some improvements, new report finds

Follow-up report highlights improvements but warns that root problems remain and bonded labour continues to exist in the cotton indsutry.

March 5th, 2012|Caste-based slavery, Dalit Children, India|
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UN expert deeply disturbed by the situation of Dalit human rights defenders in India

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders has released a report with a strong focus on the dire situation of Dalit human rights defenders, following her 2011 visit to India.

February 9th, 2012|Access to justice, India|
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AHRC Statement: India: Dalits should save themselves through justice reforms

A way to effectively address caste-based discrimination in India is by reforming institutions of justice administration. This means changing the manner in which institutions like the police, prosecution and judiciary function in the region. At the moment, what are obtained in the name of human rights are only empty promises. When public institutions of justice fail having a law to guarantee non-discrimination of Dalits is of no meaning. What is achieved in India will have tremendous influence in the region.

December 13th, 2011|Access to justice, India|
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Caste-based slavery in the mining sector highlighted in UN debate

The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery noted with concern that children from marginalised groups, including tribal and lower caste communities, are "doubly vulnerable to abuses" in the mining sector.

September 20th, 2011|Caste-based slavery, India, United Nations|
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Police kill at least six Dalits in shoot out – evidence of torture also found

People’s Watch Tamil Nadu have undertaken a fact finding mission in relation to the alleged police shooting of at least 6 Dalits, when police fired into a crowd on Sunday 11 September at Paramakudi in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The preliminary findings confirm that police were to blame for the incident and that several of those allegedly shot dead had in fact been subjected to brutal police torture.

September 15th, 2011|India|
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