Archive | Programme

UN Special Rapporteur urges States to “rally around” caste guidelines

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.

November 3rd, 2009|United Nations|

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.

November 2nd, 2009|Political Participation, United Nations|

Pillay calls for UN convention on caste

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”.

October 27th, 2009|United Nations|

UN High Commissioner: Tear down the barriers of caste

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, calls on the international community to ‘come together’ and support caste affected-communities ‘as it did when it helped put an end to apartheid.’

October 8th, 2009|India, United Nations|

Boom in media reports on UN and caste discrimination

The world’s largest English-language newspaper, The Times of India, called the UN’s stance on caste discrimination an “embarrassment” to India, and the BBC World Service aired a live debate programme on caste discrimination on 29 September.

September 30th, 2009|United Nations|

Dalit activists meet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Dalit representatives from South Asia and Japan met the leading human rights official, Madam Navi Pillay, in Geneva on 16 September. The High Commissioner assured that all forms of discrimination – including caste discrimination – will remain a priority concern for her office.

September 29th, 2009|United Nations|

Broad backing for new UN guidelines to eliminate caste discrimination

The government of Nepal is setting an international example in addressing one of the world’s most serious human rights issues. It strongly supports the UN guidelines on caste discrimination as an effective mechanism to eliminate a human rights outrage that affects 260 million people globally.

September 17th, 2009|Nepal, United Nations|

Global call for action on UN caste guidelines

The UN Human Rights Council and caste-affected governments are urged to support the new comprehensive legal framework developed by the UN to eliminate caste discrimination. These principles and guidelines will be presented at an event in Geneva, supported by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

September 2nd, 2009|United Nations|

The European Commission takes up the fight against caste discrimination

The European Commission conducted a 3 day regional workshop on Indigenous People, Minorities and Dalits in Dhaka, 15-17 June, 2009.

June 25th, 2009|European Union|

Stay updated with the IDSN June newsletter

Read the IDSN June newsletter here with all the latest news on caste-based discrimination from the IDSN network.

June 19th, 2009|Dalit Women, India, United Nations|