IDSN issued recommendations to States, contributed to statements and observed and noted caste-relevant issues presented at the UN Human Rights Council 45th Session held in Geneva.
IDSN International Associate, The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), delivered two statements mentioning caste. One was a general statement and the other an oral statement on “Human rights to water and sanitation for Dalits in India”, endorsed by IDSN.
Minority Rights Group International (MRG), also an IDSN International Associate, issued a statement at the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery, welcoming the SR’s “strong stance on the urgency to eradicate descent-based slavery, that remains a reality in Mauritania, but also in Mali, Niger and in other countries,” and raising concern for manual scavengers and sewer cleaners in South Asia.
On the sidelines of the HRC45 the German mission to the UN hosted a roundtable on discrimination and in connection with this tweeted a quote from Ambassador Christoph Heusgen:
”Racism and discrimination based on work and descent is an injustice and a human rights violation. To me, this is a conversation that we have to lead at the UN, during which we have a lot to learn and even more to act upon.”
On the German Mission’s official Twitter account they also stated, “3.25% of global population faces discrimination based on work & descent. Among others, communities like the Haratine, Forgeron, Bantu, Sinti & Roma, Burakumin and Dalits have suffered from stigmatization and exclusion.”