Dalit women human rights defenders highlighted the need to explicitly address caste discrimination, as a root cause of widespread human rights violations, at a UN Human Rights Council IDSN side-event on 18 September 2024. The event also featured a keynote by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.
UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Professor Nicolas Levrat, opened the discussion by stressing the need for the United Nations to explicitly address caste discrimination as part of its global human rights agenda. He highlighted that caste-based discrimination is a profound global human rights issue that affects millions and intersects with other forms of marginalisation such as poverty and gender. He quoted passages from the yet to be adopted UN Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Effective Elimination , which he said were still languishing in the UN bureaucracy. Prof Levrat called on the UN international mechanisms to recognise caste as a key factor in addressing human rights abuses.
“Caste discrismination is a complex issue that cuts across all dimensions of human rights and deserves specific treatment,” Prof. Levrat commented, “If we want to tackle the issue of caste it is not sufficient to just have legislation. We must work directly with Dalits and ensure that human rights can be claimed.”
Bonded labour, child labour and exploitation in Pakistan
Representing the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network, Bhagwani Bai Rathore focused on the extreme marginalisation and exploitation of Dalits in Pakistan, particularly in child and bonded labour. She described how Dalits, especially women and children, are trapped in cycles of poverty, exploitation, and abuse, often working in life-threatening conditions such as manual scavenging and brick kilns. Rathore stressed that caste is a root cause of this exploitation and called for research, strengthened legislation and greater access to education and social safety nets. She urged the UN to prioritise caste discrimination in its global human rights efforts.
“It is urged that the United Nations take the caste issue as a priority as it intersects with gender, geographic location and poverty, creating a vulnerable position that traps Dalits in child and bonded labour and severe human rights violations,” Rathore stated, “Caste needs to be mainstreamed in the United Nations system and agenda to eliminate child and bonded labour.”
The need for protection of Dalits in Bangladesh
Speaking on the situation of Dalits in Bangladesh, Tamanna Singh Baraik highlighted their extreme marginalisation and vulnerability, especially during political crises. She detailed how Dalits were targeted and attacked following political unrest in 2024, with many facing violence, loss of property, and lack of protection from law enforcement. She called for the formal recognition of Dalit marginalisation by the Bangladesh government, alongside the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation and constitutional amendments. She urged the international community to press Bangladesh to protect the rights of Dalit and other minorities in Bangladesh and end systemic discrimination.
Climate justice and discrimination in the aftermath of disasters in Nepal
Renu Sijapati of the Feminist Dalit Organisation of Nepal discussed the discrimination faced by Dalits during disaster relief efforts, particularly following the November 2023 Jajarkot earthquake. She pointed out that Dalits, especially women, were often excluded from accessing aid, largely due to a lack of land ownership and systemic discrimination. Sijapati called for more inclusive disaster preparedness plans, legal protections for Dalits, and support for Dalit-led organisations. She emphasised the need for a just and equitable recovery process that includes Dalits and ensures their equal access to resources and opportunities post-disaster.
Caste and gender justice and the need for building global solidarity
General Secretary of the All India Dalit Women Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM-NCDHR), Abirami Jotheeswaran, highlighted the intersectionality of caste and gender-based violence, using the case of the rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata as a focal point. This tragic case was not a Dalit woman and received national and international attention with growing demands against gender-based violence. However, Dalit women are subject to such attacks, resulting in their deaths almost every day and yet the world remains silent on this issue. Jotheeswaran called for urgent UN and international action to address the compounded oppression faced by Dalit women, urging the UN Minority Forum and agencies like UN Women to integrate caste and gender-based violence into their programming. She also stressed the need for global solidarity with Dalit women and the collection of international data on caste-based violence to strengthen advocacy efforts. She called on feminist movements, human rights organisations and global agencies to unite in solidarity to ensure that Dalit voices are heard at the local, national and global level.
Why the UN must act
All the panellists presentations emphasised that caste is not merely a local or regional issue—it is a global human rights crisis that must be addressed explicitly by the UN and other international agencies From child labour to climate justice and gender-based violence, caste discrimination intersects with almost every major human rights issue. The global fight against caste discrimination is essential to achieving the goal of leaving no-one behind.
Key recommendations from the panel for UN action
- Explicit focus on caste: The UN, including the Business and Human Rights and Minority Forums should place greater priority addressing violence and discrimination against Dalit women and children, recognising that caste-based exclusion affects millions.
- Global advocacy on caste-based child and bonded labour: The UN and international human rights bodies must advocate for stricter implementation of laws to end caste-driven bonded and child labour and promote that global corporations sourcing in caste-affected countries address caste discrimination as part of their human rights due diligence processes.
- Integrating caste in climate justice: As climate change disproportionately affects Dalit communities, UN disaster response programmes must focus on addressing caste discrimination in disaster preparedness, relief work and rehabilitation — particularly for Dalit communities living in disaster-prone regions.
- Strengthening legal protections for Dalits: The UN Human Rights mechanisms should actively engage with countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and others to ensure stronger legal frameworks against caste-based violence, particularly where it intersects with gender and labour exploitation.
- International conference on caste discrimination: The UN should hold an international conference on eliminating caste-based discrimination and advocate for adopting the UN Principles and Guidelines on work and descent-based discrimination.
The event was co-organised by IDSN and International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), FORUM-ASIA, Minority Rights Group, Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The panellist presentations can be seen in a video from the side-event on the IDSN YouTube channel.