Archive | United Nations

UN Expert Report: India must act on access to adequate housing for Dalits

The report cites Government statistics revealing that Dalits on average live in lower quality housing, made with inadequate materials compared to the general population and finds the lack of access for Dalits to latrines, […]
February 3rd, 2017|India, Living conditions, United Nations|

Report: Widespread child slavery in India’s yarn industry, most victims are Dalits

The India Committee on the Netherlands (ICN) report  ‘Fabric of Slavery – Large-scale forced (child) labour in India’s spinning mills’ shows that various forms of modern slavery, including child slavery, are found in more […]
January 13th, 2017|Caste-based slavery, Dalit Women, United Nations|

(In)Equality in Aid discussed at the 9th session of the Forum on Minority Issues

The 9th session of the Forum on Minority Issues (the Forum) was held last week, on 24 and 25 November 2016, focusing on the situation of minorities in humanitarian crises. The Forum provides a […]
November 29th, 2016|India, Nepal, Pakistan, United Nations, Yemen|

IDSN at the CERD consultation with civil society: joining hands to end racial discrimination

On 23 November 2016, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held a consultation with civil society organisations “Joining hands to end racial discrimination”. It aimed to reflect on how the International […]
November 25th, 2016|India, Nepal, UK, United Nations|

Will SDGs “leave no one behind” without a disaggregated data on caste-based discrimination?

In 2015, seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by world leaders to guide global development agendas for the next 15 years. Yet, to date, the indicators measuring the achievement of the SDGs have […]
November 21st, 2016|Diaspora, Human Rights Defenders, United Nations|

References to caste discrimination during the CEDAW review of Bangladesh

On 7 and 8 November, Bangladesh was reviewed under the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Prior to the review thirteen civil society organisations submitted alternative reports, outlining various issues that […]
November 10th, 2016|Bangladesh, Dalit Women, United Nations|

The SR on Minority issues completed her visit to Sri Lanka

The UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, just completed her official 10 days visit in Sri Lanka. In her statement on 20 October, the SR urged the government to take concrete steps […]
October 21st, 2016|Sri Lanka, United Nations|

Caste at the Human Rights Council’s 33 session

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) commenced its 33rd session on 13 September. This year the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences has a […]
September 15th, 2016|Caste-based slavery, United Nations|

Caste discrimination in the United Kingdom

On 28 August 2016, as a part of the regular review process, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published its concluding observations to the UK. The Committee expressed its concern that […]
September 7th, 2016|UK, United Nations|

MEPs make caste appeal to EU foreign policy chief

The European Union should step up its efforts to address caste discrimination at the multilateral level as well as in its direct relations with caste-affected states. It should also integrate the issue into its […]
June 30th, 2016|European Union, Human Rights Defenders, United Nations|