UN Minority Forum: More political participation for Dalits
IDSN urges the UN Forum on Minority issues to consider ways to enhance political participation, especially for Dalit women.
IDSN urges the UN Forum on Minority issues to consider ways to enhance political participation, especially for Dalit women.
The international debate on caste discrimination is also taking place on blogs and media websites. Now is the time to join the debate on caste discrimination as a human rights violation and the role of the international community.
Bonded labourers in South Asia are predominantly Dalits, also known as ‘untouchables’. The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery highlights this in her report about forced and bonded labour, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 12th session in September.
Dalit children in Gujarat will protest against being forced to clean toilets and septic tanks at the upcoming rally against manual scavenging, organized by Grassroots Dalit organization Navsarjan.
The campaign to end manual scavenging by the 2010 Commonwealth Games just got a push from a recent Supreme Court Decision, holding Government appointed District Collectors responsible for not eradicating the demeaning and hazardous practice.
Read the IDSN June newsletter here with all the latest news on caste-based discrimination from the IDSN network.
When the Human Rights Council meet for the 11th time between 2-18 June, IDSN recommends that the issue of caste discrimination be addressed, in particular the human rights situation of Dalit women. Members of the Council are also urged to acknowledge the positive role played by the High Commissioner on Human Rights during her recent visits to two caste-affected countries, Nepal and India.
The conference, involving around 100 representatives of church-related organisation from all over the world and members of affected communities, presents an opportunity to share experiences and perspectives to help meet the challenge of securing justice for Dalits. The event also serves to underscore the magnitude of the problem, which affects 260 million people worldwide.
The first Dalit National Human Rights Conference and the Universal Periodic Review sheds light on Dalit issues in Bangladesh.