IDSN engages with the UN Human Rights Council 45th session on caste, slavery and water and sanitation

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

|Categories: Manual Scavenging, United Nations, Water and Sanitation|Tags: |

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Statement on Human rights to water and sanitation for Dalits in India – at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council

IMADR delivered the oral statement on “Human rights to water and sanitation for Dalits in India” at the 45th session of the Human Rights Council. The Whole text can be read below or download here. ——— Oral Statement: 45th session of the Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to […]

|Categories: United Nations, Water and Sanitation|Tags: |

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IDSN Recommendations – Human Rights Council 45th Session

Caste discrimination is found in various regions of the world including the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe and continues to be addressed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Procedures’ mandate holders. Nonetheless, more needs to be done to ensure that caste-based discrimination is recognised by the Council and mainstreamed into UN resolutions. In the context […]

|Categories: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, United Nations|Tags: |

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35,000 view the debate on caste and colourism with the Producer of the Netflix show Indian Matchmaking

The discussion strikes a chord with many and centres around a critique by IDSN and Dalit activists that the Netflix show sweeps casteism and colourism under the rug, by implying them on the show but never addressing the issues directly or explicitly. The shows one-sided focus on mainly Hindu dominant caste participants and their matchmaking processes, where filters such […]

|Categories: Dalit Women, Diaspora, India, Solidarity Networks|Tags: |

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IDSN Members responding to Covid-19

IDSN Members continue to respond to the extremely vulnerable situation of Dalits during the Covid-19 lockdown and pandemic. We have collated some examples of reports, relief and other initiatives undertaken by IDSN members over the past two months: Empowering Dalit Communities during Covid-19 (NDMJ-NCDHR) National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) has issued a newsletter documenting the results of their monitoring […]

|Categories: Health, Humanitarian Aid, India, Nepal, Violence and atrocities|Tags: |

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Dalit women activists highlight caste and gender discrimination at UN hearing

The need for more attention to be paid to intersectional caste and gender discrimination and for transforming mindsets through human rights education and awareness raising, was highlighted at the UN multi-stakeholder hearing ‘Accelerating the Realization of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls’  on 21 July. Dalit women […]

|Categories: Dalit Women, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, South Asia, United Nations|Tags: |

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Study: Dalits and Adivasis working under hazardous conditions in India’s stone industry

Dangerous working conditions, debt bondage and below minimum wages are some of the findings of the study ‘Between a rock and a hard place‘ released by the Dutch-based human rights NGO Arisa. In the quarries surveyed in Rajasthan, it was found that over 60% of the workers were Adivasis or Dalits.

|Categories: Business, India|Tags: |

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Activists call for caste legislation as tech giant Cisco is accused of discrimination 

The federal lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), alleges that dominant caste managers at Cisco’s San Jose headquarters campus, which employs a predominantly South Asian workforce, harassed, discriminated, and retaliated against an engineer because he is a Dalit. “It is unacceptable for workplace conditions and opportunities to […]

|Categories: Business|Tags: |

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Joint letter urges EU to raise serious concern for Dalit human rights defenders at the EU-India summit 

   Download the full letter here >> 

|Categories: Access to justice, European Union, Human Rights Defenders, India, Political Participation, Violence and atrocities|Tags: |

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Report: Over 50% of child labourers in cottonseed farms in India are Dalits or Adivasis

A new report published by the human rights NGO Arisa has found that children under 14 years account for over 18% of the workforce in the cottonseed farms surveyed, with over 50% of the child labourers in the sector being Dalits or Adivasis. The majority of the child labourers were not attending school.

|Categories: Business, Caste-based slavery, Dalit Children, India|Tags: |

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