Press Release – Ethical Trading Initiative – UK - Remaining silent about caste discrimination in global supply chains is fueling modern slavery, child labour and the exploitation of workers in South Asia, according to new ETI Base Code guidance for companies published today.
Joint statement by the International Dalit Solidarity Network, Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network, International Movement Against All Forms of Racism and Discrimination (IMADR), Minority Rights Group International, Anti-Slavery International and FORUM-ASIA. As the UN review Pakistan’s human rights record on 13 November, we urge the Government to commit with time bound action plans to end ongoing serious human rights violations against Dalits in Pakistan. Despite general commitments made to this effect at previous UN UPR reviews of Pakistan these have not been implemented and violations such as bonded labour, forced conversions and disappearances, murder and persecution of Dalit rights defenders continue unabated. As a newly elected member of the UN Human Rights Council, Pakistan must ensure that commitments to protect the rights of Dalits are urgently and duly implemented.
REPORT - Caste and Gender-Based Forced and Bonded Labour from UN HRC29 IDSN SIDE-EVENT 18th June 2015, 17.00-18.30
The alternative report on scheduled caste children in Pakistan is written by the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network (PDSN) and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) and submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for the 72nd Pre-sessional Working Group session (5-9 October 2015) and the review of Pakistan at the 72nd Working Group session (6 May-3 June 2016). The report examines the current situation of scheduled caste (Dalit) children and provides information about the implementation gaps in the enforcement of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, and makes recommendations for the Committee’s examination. The observations are based on independent studies and reports, case documentation, and recommendations by other UN human rights bodies.
Briefing note including cases and quotes.
The newly released Human Rights Watch World Report 2015 and the Amnesty International 2014-15 report find that caste discrimination persists with adverse effects to human rights on multiple levels. Serious obstacles to access to justice, discrimination in education and access to services and caste-based violence, including rape of Dalit women, are among the key themes addressed in the reports. These concerns are also noted in the latest India and Nepal reports of the US State Department.
The reports and statements of the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Rapporteur on Slavery and Special Rapporteur on Water and Sanitation at the HRC27 session offered general, thematic as well as state specific observations and recommendations on caste-based discrimination.
2014 Cluster and analysis by IDSN.
"Manual Scavenging," Caste, and Discrimination in India
Kara's pioneering analysis encompasses human trafficking, child labor, and global security, and he concludes with ten specific initiatives to eliminate the system of bonded labor from South Asia once and for all.
IDSN introduction video to caste discrimination (produced 2012)