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UN Minority Forum: Dalit activists call for action on caste-based violence, intersectional discrimination, shrinking civic space and labour rights

At the Eighteenth session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in 2025, IDSN delegates highlighted the urgent need to address caste discrimination, violence and exclusion across South Asia. Dalit delegates from South Asia […]
December 1st, 2025|Access to justice, Bangladesh, Business, Caste-based slavery, Caste-hate speech, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, development, Education, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Political Participation, South Asia, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|
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UN Advocacy Update: June–November 2025

Over the past months, IDSN has been actively engaging across the UN Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and with several Special Rapporteurs to ensure that addressing caste discrimination remain firmly on the international […]
November 18th, 2025|Access to justice, Bangladesh, Business, Caste-based slavery, Climate, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, India, Living conditions, Manual Scavenging, Nepal, Pakistan, Political Participation, Poverty, South Asia, United Nations, Violence and atrocities, Water and Sanitation|
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Dalit leader urges action to address the situation of Dalit women at UN CEDAW Review of Nepal

On 3 February 2025, Durga Sob, founder of the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) and a leading advocate for Dalit women’s rights, delivered a statement in connection with the 90th Session of the UN Convention on […]
February 20th, 2025|Access to justice, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Human Rights Defenders, Nepal, Political Participation, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|
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UN Minority Forum: Dalit activists call for action on caste-hate speech, political inclusion and intersectional discrimination

At the 2024 UN Forum on Minority Issues, IDSN delegates called for action on caste-based discrimination and exclusion. Sundar Bahadur Sheni from Nepal emphasised the need for Dalit inclusion in political and public spaces, […]
December 13th, 2024|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, United Nations|
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Dalit leader trains EU diplomats on caste-based discrimination

Abirami Jotheeswaran, General Secretary of All India Dalit Women Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM-NCDHR), delivered a compelling presentation to 20 European Union diplomats stationed in Asia and the Pacific, highlighting caste discrimination and its intersections with […]
December 11th, 2024|Access to justice, Dalit Women, European Union, Human Rights Defenders, India|
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UN Review of civil and political rights in India calls for action on caste discrimination

In July 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Committee reviewed India’s adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee expressed serious concerns about ongoing caste-based discrimination and violence, particularly […]
October 13th, 2024|Access to justice, Dalit Women, India, Political Participation, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|
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Dalit women call for global action at #LetsTalkAboutCaste UN side-event

Dalit women human rights defenders highlighted the need to explicitly address caste discrimination, as a root cause of widespread human rights violations, at a UN Human Rights Council IDSN side-event on 18 September 2024. The […]
September 23rd, 2024|Access to justice, Bangladesh, Caste-based slavery, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Poverty, South Asia, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|
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UN workshop sheds light on barriers to justice for Dalits in South Asia

In the workshop titled “Mapping out Access to Justice for Persons from Descent-Based Communities,” human rights defenders, researchers, legal experts and civil society representatives gathered to discuss some of the pressing issues faced by […]
September 5th, 2024|Access to justice, Bangladesh, Caste-hate speech, Climate, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Political Participation, South Asia, Sri Lanka, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|
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UN CERD Review critically examines Pakistan’s efforts to combat caste discrimination

On 8th August 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) conducted a thorough review of Pakistan’s progress in addressing racial discrimination, livecast on UN Web TV. Ahead of the review, […]
August 15th, 2024|Access to justice, Caste-based slavery, Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Pakistan, Political Participation, United Nations|
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Review of the film Origin by IDSN Ambassador Aidan McQuade

IDSN Director, Meena Varma and IDSN Ambassador, Aidan McQuade were invited to a press screening of Film Director, Ava DuVernay’s new film Origin, a film inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s groundbreaking book – Caste: The […]
March 7th, 2024|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, Violence and atrocities|
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