The Sindh Human Rights Commission organised a one-day consultation with key stakeholders at Hotel Avari Towers, Karachi, on August 18, 2022. The purpose of the consultation was to identify the gaps in the legislation covering labour rights of sanitation workers and build a consensus to gear efforts toward driving legislative interventions for the inclusion of sanitation workers in the labour laws. The event was organised in technical partnership with The Knowledge Forum.
A unique event organised by the Norwegian Human Rights Fund brought together, activists, experts, trade unions and several international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, IDSN and OSF. In a session dedicated to addressing caste-based discrimination, the exploitation of Dalit women in work settings, was raised by speakers at the global Women at Work conference in Nepal, stressing the urgent need to address the situation.
IDSN participated actively in the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, highlighting the need to tackle caste discrimination through participation at key events, interactive dialogues and oral statements.
How violation of the fundamental rights of a citizen dents our entire society is often ignored by the power structures in the country. This is especially so when it translates into marginalization in education of children belonging to persecuted communities that endure gross discrimination and systemic exploitation.
Jeyasre Kathiravel’s death exposed the epidemic of violence facing workers making clothes for the UK high street. Will a groundbreaking agreement improve their lot?
Despite being prohibited in many countries, slavery is widespread in South Asia. Forced and bonded labour, resulting in a loss of control over labour conditions and terms of work, is often interlinked with the caste system and related types of customary feudal agricultural relationships.
GA report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief – UNGA77
In June, IDSN and a group of other civil society organisations met with Ahmed Shaheed, the current Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, in Brussels.
Joint stakeholder submission by PDSN, CLJ PHF, RADHA, Hari Welfare Association, PDO, AF, PILER and IDSN.
IDSN and the UN OHCHR Minority section brought together an experts’ round table discussion to mark the 30th Anniversary of the UN Minority mandate.
In most of the countries of South Asia, hate speech is increasingly used by majority groups against minorities on the basis of religion, ethnicity or linguistic difference. Some of the groups under attack, in turn, are found to be victimising others at the same time. The common denominator driving hate speech in the region currently are the ubiquitous online platforms, primarily social media.
Survey by the SR on contemporary forms of slavery
In Pakistan, forced marriages and forced conversions of women and girls affect Hindu and Christian minorities disproportionately. There are frequent reports that persons belonging to these minorities are kidnapped and subjugated to physical and emotional abuse involving threats of violence.
IDSN submission to the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery for his study about slavery in the informal sector, to be presented at the 77th session of the UNGA.
The links between caste and hazardous forms of sanitation work were highlighted by speakers at the Sanitation Workers Forum 2021 from 29 November – 2 December. Participants at the forum urged that immediate steps are taken to ensure the safety and dignity of millions of sanitation workers worldwide – and ensure social protections.
Economic, social and labour rights were the thematic headlines of this year’s EU-NGO Human Rights Forum, where three Dalit human rights defenders were featured as panellists, facilitated by IDSN. Caste-related barriers to healthcare in Pakistan, post-covid economic and social recovery for Dalit workers in South Asia and building corporate accountability to respect human rights were among the key topics covered by the panellists.
Obtaining water from a mosque tap landed a farm workers family from the Hindu community in trouble as some village landlords allegedly tortured and held them hostage for “violating the sanctity” of the place.
After 11 years as the NHRF’s Executive Director Sandra Petersen is moving on to a new chapter and role in the organisation.
UNITED NATIONS: Five out of six multidimensionally poor people in India are from lower tribes or castes, according to a new analysis on global multidimensional poverty released by the United Nations on Thursday.
