Dutch back UN measures on caste
The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Maxime Verhagen, has made a strong statement on caste discrimination at the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.
The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Maxime Verhagen, has made a strong statement on caste discrimination at the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has made caste discrimination one of the thematic priorities in its struggle against discrimination and impunity in 2010-2011.
A new opinion poll shows an increase in awareness of caste discrimination as a serious human rights issue among the population of the Netherlands.
Three Dalit women from Andhra Pradesh took part in a protest outside the conference area of the UN climate talks by ceremonially burning their conference badges. They felt that their voices had not been heard in the COP15 process.
Two Independent Experts - on water and sanitation and on human rights and extreme poverty - expressed serious concern about the human rights situation of Dalits during their visit to Bangladesh earlier this month.
In her Human Rights Day statement, UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay mentioned “members of particular castes” as a group that faces discrimination.
Two Dalit representatives from India and one from Nepal joined their IDSN colleagues in Brussels last week to inform European Union officials about the nature and scale of caste discrimination in South Asia.
At the 64th session of the UN General Assembly the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Mr. Githu Muigai, expressed his serious concern about caste discrimination and recommended States to “engage in substantive discussions on this topic”. He specifically called on States to take action on the draft UN principles and guidelines to eliminate caste discrimination.
IDSN urges the UN Forum on Minority issues to consider ways to enhance political participation, especially for Dalit women.
In an interview with US weekly The Nation, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says that caste systems can be removed “through an expression of international outrage”.