At a regional consultation in Dhaka, human rights campaigners discussed steps towards enactment of special legislation to ensure equal rights for Dalits and other excluded communities in Bangladesh.
A national march – the Maila Mukti Yatra - will cross India with a call for the total eradication of ‘the slavery of manual scavenging’. It happens at a time when prominent campaigners have expressed scepticism towards new legislation against this banned, but continuing, practice.
Thousands of Dalits and Adivasis gathered in Delhi on Friday to demand amendments to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The government may bring in these amendments early next year.
Approximately 1,000 non-Dalits launched a coordinated attack on three Dalit settlements in Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, on 7 November. Hundreds of houses were burnt and looted – ostensibly because of an inter-caste marriage.
When Pakistan was reviewed by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism on 30 October, many states expressed concern about the human rights situation of religious minorities, including scheduled castes.
A coalition of 150 Indian NGOs is demanding amendments to - and proper implementation of - the laws that are supposed to protect Dalits and Adivasis from atrocities. The campaign is gathering momentum.
Press Release (23 October 2012). The Government of Pakistan has failed to honour the commitments it made at the UN review of its human rights record four years ago. International NGOs are urging states to recommend it to ensure full protection of minorities, including Dalits and other marginalised groups.
In a newly released report, the Government of Bangladesh is called upon to enact a law against untouchability practices, and implement a national action plan to comprehensively address discrimination based on work and descent against Dalits and other excluded groups.
The Indian government is ready to introduce new legislation to end manual scavenging. The proposed bill includes tough penalties for those who continue to employ people as scavengers.
The recent wave of kidnappings and forced marriages of Dalit girls has spread fear in Pakistan’s Dalit community, which is already extremely marginalised.
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