182 entries found
Can mental health care address trauma without addressing caste? At a conference in Bengaluru, the National Federation of Dalit Women and The Blue Dawn brought practitioners, activists and artists together to explore care rooted in social justice. During the conference, NFDW also celebrated 30 years of its journey by honouring 30 anti-caste individuals and organisations from India who have worked closely with NFDW over the years.
Dalit feminist leaders from India and Nepal met in Bangalore, India, for a week of shared learning and organising. The National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) and the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), both IDSN members, strengthened connections across borders and explored the challenges facing Dalit women and girls through capacity-strengthening sessions, exchanges between movement leaders and exposure visits to community initiatives in Bangalore, fostering cross-border feminist solidarity and shared learning.
IDSN brought together #DalitVoicesForJustice, UN experts, civil society and Member States for our HRC62 side-event, Caste, Gender and Power: #DalitVoicesForJustice on 2 July at the UN Human Rights Council. The event highlighted the urgent need to explicitly address caste and gender discrimination as a root cause of widespread human rights violations across South Asia. This was underscored by powerful addresses from the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Dr. Ashwini K.P. and the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Prof. Nicolas Levrat.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has issued wide-ranging recommendations to India to strengthen action against caste discrimination, reaffirming that caste-based discrimination is fully covered by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Following its August 2026 review of India, CERD raised concerns over persistent segregation, caste-based violence, discrimination against Dalit women, barriers to justice, manual scavenging, bonded labour and discrimination in education and access to services. The Committee called for stronger implementation of existing protections, improved access to remedies and better data on the situation of Dalits. Ahead of the review, IDSN and Minority Rights Group International submitted a joint alternative report documenting continuing caste-based discrimination and gaps in implementation of previous CERD recommendations.
The EU’s 2025 Human Rights and Democracy in the World country reports include several references of relevance to caste-affected communities in South Asia. In Bangladesh, the report explicitly identifies discrimination against Dalits as a longstanding human rights concern. In Nepal, it highlights concerns that Dalits and other marginalised groups have not been meaningfully included in transitional justice processes and could be excluded from current reform debates, while also noting the continuing underrepresentation of women and minorities in political life. In India, caste is not addressed as a systemic issue, although the report notes continuing violence against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, alongside restrictions affecting civil society. The Pakistan chapter does not explicitly mention caste or Dalits, but raises related concerns including discrimination against minorities, child marriage, child labour, labour rights, and violence against women.
IDSN facilitated a series of advocacy meetings and outreach activities in Brussels involving Dalit human rights defenders that took place in December 2025. The visit created an important opportunity to bring first-hand perspectives from South Asia into exchanges with EU institutions on caste-based discrimination, human rights and democratic governance and contribute to ongoing strategy work on caste discrimination.
At the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, the IDSN #DalitVoicesUN delegation engagement underscored the urgent need to recognise caste discrimination in global supply chains and human-rights due diligence. Through active engagement in multiple sessions, the focus was on the importance of rights-based, people-centred frameworks aligned with international standards.
At the Eighteenth session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in 2025, IDSN delegates highlighted the urgent need to address caste discrimination, violence and exclusion across South Asia. Dalit delegates from South Asia raised concerns around institutional impunity, structural marginalisation of Dalit women and the shrinking civic space for human rights defenders. They also emphasised the vital contributions of Dalit women workers and activists in fostering accountability, dignity and social cohesion at local and global levels
A recent OECD side-event, co-organised by Arisa and IDSN, delved into caste discrimination within global garment and footwear supply chains, offering practical insights for companies seeking to address this pervasive problem. Led by a panel of experts, the session provided actionable strategies tailored to the challenges posed by caste discrimination.
All speakers emphasized the need to educate all workers on their rights, the policies in place and how to access grievance and complaints mechanisms. It was also stressed that a closer examination of the social and cultural power dynamics at play and the staff composition may be needed in order to ensure this is done in a fully inclusive way. Participants were referred to the ETI-UK’s Base Code guidance: caste in global supply chains, for further information on caste discrimination and how to begin to address this in your supply chain. Ahead of the event Ethical Trade Norway published an article, in Norwegian, on caste discrimination in supply chains, by Maya Sunde Singh, who is also the Coordinator of the Dalit Solidarity Network Norway.
IDSN welcomes The European Parliament adoption of a comprehensive report on EU-India relations on 17 January. This report, while broadly focusing on various aspects of the EU-India relationship excluding trade, contains critical insights and recommendations pertinent to the issue of caste-based discrimination in India. Authored by MEP Alviina Alametsa, the standing rapporteur on India, the document follows up on previous work and provides a framework for addressing these human rights concerns.
Dalit activists forming part of the IDSN delegation made their presence felt at the 25th EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights in Brussels, Belgium held from 4-6 December, 2023. Sunil Kumar Pariyar from Nepal and Prameela KP from India joined the forum to highlight the challenges faced by Dalit communities in their respective countries and beyond.
An IDSN delegation of Dalit human rights defenders participated in the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights held on 27-29 November as well as the UN Forum on Minority Issues, held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 30 November – 1 December 2023. The delegation made an important impact giving statements and participating in panels, sessions and events.
Perspectives, ideas, insights and engagement filled the room as representatives from IDSN’s member organisations and international associates from across the globe gathered for a two-day general assembly meeting in Geneva on 24-25 November, 2023.
During the 4th Cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India, the country received recommendations on caste, including the need to ensure implementation of legislation to protect Dalits from discrimination and violence, develop an action plan to prevent caste discrimination in labour, protect Dalit women and girls from violence and sexual abuse, ensure equal access to services, and to step up efforts to end caste discrimination.
IDSN delegates from South Asia spoke out on the human rights issues faced by Dalits at the UN Forum on Minority Issues in December 2022. Speaking on the panel and from the floor, human rights defenders from India and Nepal shared their experience of discrimination and injustice and their thoughts on the way forward for their communities.
An IDSN delegation of inspiring young Dalit rights leaders participated in the the 11th session of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva - December 2022. The young Dalit leaders from Nepal and India participated actively in the Forum, through statements from the floor, social media, interviews and in-person interactions during sessions, side-events and breaks. They also took part in side-events, sharing their experiences and learning from the experiences of other.
This year, the ‘OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector’ took place from the 22nd till the 24th of February. This forum is an annual event during which multiple topics – linked to due diligence in clothing and shoes production chains – are discussed by many different stakeholders.
On 14 November the Alderbugh Cinema DocFest invited the IDSN Executive Director to speak about Dalit women human rights defenders and caste in South Asia at the screening of the award winning documentary Writing with Fire.
Brief and recommendations in relation to the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights – 29 November- 1 December The rape and murder of a 20-year-old Dalit factory worker has attracted attention to poor working conditions and caste- and gender-based inequalities in India’s garment industry.
