The Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs has promised to take active measures in fighting caste discrimination. His statements came at an event organised by the Dalit Solidarity Network in Finland (DSN-Fi), which formed part of an impressive campaign week by DSN-Fi.
Almost 16 years after the savage killings of 58 Dalits in a Bihar village, the survivors’ fight for justice has suffered a severe blow. On 9 October, the Patna High Court acquitted 26 men who were sentenced for the crime three years ago.
Press release: The elected representatives of half a billion Europeans from 28 countries in the European Parliament (EP) today adopted a strongly worded resolution on caste discrimination.
The National Tribunal on Violence Against Dalit Women, organised by AIDMAM, heard over 45 testimonies of Dalit women who had been subjected to kidnapping, murder, physical assault, sexual violence and other crimes against them, and have yet to obtain justice.
Next month, the European Parliament will express serious concern about caste discrimination and urge the EU to take action on this important human rights issue.
A long awaited bill prohibiting manual scavenging was passed by the Indian parliament on 7 September. But two leading campaign organisations say that much needs to be done before the total eradication of this inhuman practice is achieved.
The alleged rape and murder of a 20-year old Dalit woman in Haryana has prompted civil society groups to protest against the inaction of the authorities. Her body was found on 25 August in the city of Jind. The victim’s family and activists believe that she was gang-raped before being killed.
The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery has urged the Government of Madagascar to address the issue of caste discrimination openly. She also notes that victims of caste discrimination are generally vulnerable to slavery and slavery-like practices, such as bonded labour in South Asia.
Hundreds of manual scavengers demonstrated in Delhi on 7 August against government apathy in abolishing the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. Unless legislation is introduced soon, they will return in their thousands and prevent parliament from functioning.
A discussion in the European Parliament’s Development Committee on 8 July focused on the need for an EU policy on caste discrimination. MEPs believe that this serious human rights problem warrants EU priority action and are preparing a resolution on the issue.
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