EU encouraged to step up action on the issue of caste discrimination in global supply chains
The hearing was chaired by MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the subcommittee on human rights. Ramesh Nathan focused his presentation on caste and contemporary slavery in supply chains with a specific focus on the Sumangali system in Tamil Nadu.
During his intervention, he acknowledged that the European Parliament has been at the forefront of the international community in addressing caste discrimination […]
Dalit human rights defenders attend the EU-NGO Forum
The overarching theme for the 2018 Forum was “Defending universality – Making Human Rights Reality”. 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration, the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action as well as the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Rome Statute.
In the margins of the Forum, the IDSN delegation […]
UN women’s committee makes recommendations to Nepal to address discrimination against Dalit women
The Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) has released its Concluding Observations, after the periodic review of Nepal. The CEDAW Committee took note of a number of concerns regarding Dalit women and made relevant recommendations.
Below is a summary of the recommendations – for more information on IDSN’s participation in the […]
UN CEDAW committee voices concern over difficulties faced by Dalit women in Nepal
UN experts on gender discrimination voiced concerns over the difficulties elected Dalit women face in Nepal, the need for proportional inclusion of Dalit women in the Judiciary, and extreme poverty faced by many Dalit women as a result of discrimination and stigmatization. The comments were made by the CEDAW committee members at the review of the 6th periodic […]
New Report: Justice Denied – Death of workers engaged in manual scavenging (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
A new report has been released by NGO Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan looking at the caste inequities underpinning manual scavenging in India and the many Dalits dying while cleaning septic tanks and sewers with no proper equipment. The findings, outlined below, point to an urgent need for action to end this practice.
EU high-representative calls the UN NGO Committee “hostile to civil society interests, particularly … caste discrimination.”
In her answer to MEP Jean Lambert’s question, on what the EU were doing to support IDSN’s application for UN consultative status, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, stated that, “A critical mass of members of the NGO Committee is hostile to civil society interests, particularly in sensitive areas such as caste discrimination.”
Ms. Mogherini […]
Sanitation worker deaths spark protests demanding an end to manual scavenging in India
The call to action has come from the Safai Kramchari Andolan (SKA), an organization that has been fighting for the rights of manual scavengers and helping them break out of the practice. The protesters included relatives of many who died due to manual scavenging and human rights activists including many of […]
IDSN engages with the 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
IDSN engaged with the 39th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), held in the Palais des Nations from the 10th to the 28th of September 2018. IDSN delivered statements, lobbied Member States and OHCHR staff and met with the High Commissioner and the NGO Committee – find our recommendations here. Find the full agenda and programme of […]
Senior UN official raises concern over the ‘de facto’ rejection of ECOSOC status for IDSN
In his address to the Human Rights Council, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, raised concern over the “repeated deferrals and apparent lack of transparency amounting to a de facto rejection on the granting of IDSN’s UN consultative status.”
His comments came as part of his oral presentation to the Human Rights Council on 19 September 2018, covering […]
MEPs: EU should cancel agreements with India until unjustly jailed human rights defenders are released
The letter from the MEP’s specifically demands the immediate release of Prof. GN Saibaba, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Surendra Gadling, Prof Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawle, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raul, and Sudha Bharadwaj.
The letter also states:
“We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, condemn the raids on homes and arbitrary […]