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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.
Read the IDSN June newsletter here with all the latest news on caste-based discrimination from the IDSN network.
After almost two years of delay, the final report on discrimination based on work and descent containing a set of draft principles and guidelines has finally been published as an official UN document. This is an important milestone in gaining international recognition for caste-based discrimination, one of the biggest, yet most overlooked human rights problems globally.
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.
With the election of Norway into the UN Human Rights Council, NGOs are urging the Norwegian Government to make the fight against the inhumane practice of caste discrimination one of their main priorities.
Read the May newsletter here with all the latest news on caste-based discrimination from the IDSN network.
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