On the 30 September, during the Interactive Dialogue with the HRC Advisory Committee, Pradip Pariyar, from IDSN member organisation Samata Foundation, highlighted the need for the UN system to keep engaged in eradicating caste-based discrimination.
In an open letter Members of Parliament express their utmost concern regarding the rising number of grave incidents of rape and sexual violence against Dalit women and girls, which have been taking place in India over the last few years.
The Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), a leading human rights organization in the country, documented 5,543 victims of human rights violations in 2020.
Disclosing that several actions that post-conflict countries are mandatorily required to accomplish remain unaddressed in Nepal, the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), a leading human rights organization in the country, documented 5,543 victims of human rights violations in 2020.
For the preparation of the report, consultations and discussions have been held with more than 223 Dalit civil society organizations and other human rights organizations in Nepal. The report has been prepared consulting with various stakeholders, concerned members, experts/specialists at state government and Prime Minister's office, concerned ministries, parliamentary committees, honorable members of parliament, Dalit commission, women commission among others, Dalit people's organizations, civil society, human rights activists and Dalit civil society's heads and representatives and journalists.
This is the fact sheet by DNF and IDSN on the UPR of Nepal, listing recommendations, that have been responded to and noted, as well as the national framework of Nepal.
A petition by DHRD to call for the the United Nations to Build Forward Better on Descent and Caste-Based Discrimination.
In February, the IDSN Membership Coordinator took part in the National Stakeholder Consultation on the UN UPR in Nepal, organised by IDSN members the Dalit NGO Federation, Feminist Dalit Organization & Jagaran Media Centre together with IDSN Affiliate the Dalit Welfare Organisation and over thirty other Dalit NGOs in Nepal. The Consultation highlighted the need to act to end caste discrimination and promote caste gender justice. Over 70 participants from CSOs, media, academia, and Government took part in the consultation.
IDSN, the Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM) and Nagorik Uddyog submitted a joint report to the UPR process and distributed a factsheet with recommendations on protecting the human rights of Dalits in Bangladesh.
The Concluding Observations of the May 2018 review of Nepal, by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), includes dozens of remarks relating to caste-based discrimination and several strongly worded recommendations on fighting it. Read the full IDSN analysis
Despite ample information provided by the UN system itself and civil society groups working on Dalit rights in Bangladesh, only one recommendation addressing the rights abuses faced by Dalits was brought forward at the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the human rights situation in Bangladesh.
In advance of the UN HRC 37 IDSN distributed its recommendations, referring to the High Commissioner on Human Rights reports, the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan. IDSN board member Henri Tiphagne also spoke at key side-events and the situation of Dalits was noted in several debates.
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.
13 states mentioned caste and/ or Dalits, resulting in 13 targeted recommendations 9 targeted recommendation (on caste and Dalits) out of 13 were accepted.
In response to the 250 recommendations, which India received during its third review of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council on 4 May 2017, the Government of India (GoI) accepted nine recommendations related to caste-based discrimination.i The accepted recommendations, were made by a cross-regional group of states: USA, Peru, Argentina, France, Germany, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, and two from the Holy See (see the recommendations in the document).
Factsheet for the UPR of Pakistan (28th session, 13 November 2017)
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pakistan 2017 - Discrimination against Dalits in Pakistan
Despite ample evidence that caste-discrimination in UK is a human rights issue, and a submission made by the Dalit Solidarity Network-UK and IDSN detailing the problem, not a single state mentioned caste discrimination at the UN UPR review of the UK. Human rights campaigners are disappointed at the negligence of the international community when it comes to addressing caste in the UK context. DSN-UK have summarised the review on their website.
At the UN review of the human rights situation in India, more than a dozen UN Member States recommended actions to ensure the rights of Dalits. The recommendations come following reports and statements from civil society, including Dalit rights organisations, documenting the lack of enforcement and protection of the human rights of Dalits in India.