Members of European Parliament Ask India to ‘End Crackdown’ on Rights Activists
Twenty members of the European Parliament have written to Central ministers, expressing concern about “worrying signs of shrinking civil society space in India”, newsoutlet The Wire reports.
“India is the largest democracy in the world, and an important strategic partner of the European Union, whereas the relationship between the two is based on shared values of human rights, democracy and […]
Dignity March to end Sexual Violence in India – culminates in New Delhi
The aims of the march are to end stigmatization; to demand that state, non-state and social actors […]
Dalit Film and Cultural Festival held in New York
A schedule over the films shown can be found here and much more information can be found on the festival website: – https://www.dalitfilmfest.com/
Coverage in […]
Human Rights Watch: Vigilante ‘Cow Protection’ Groups Attack Minorities in India
The Indian government should prevent and prosecute mob violence by vigilante groups targeting minorities in the name of so-called cow protection, Human Rights Watch said in a report released in March. The 104-page report, “Violent Cow Protection in India: Vigilante Groups Attack Minorities,” describes the use of communal rhetoric by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to spur […]
Ambassadors join the fight to end caste discrimination
PRESS RELEASE
5 February 2019
“The fight to end caste discrimination is at the root of some of the most horrendous human rights violations facing the world today including modern slavery, violence against women, extreme poverty and grave failures of the justice system in affected countries across the world,” said one of the new IDSN Ambassador, Professor Gay McDougall, Member the UN […]
Report finds entrenched caste discrimination in India’s criminal justice system
“Criminal Justice in the Shadow of Caste” is a pioneering report looking at the administration of criminal justice in India through a caste lens. The findings reveal discrimination at all levels, including within prisons. The report has been released by IDSN member, the National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ-NCDHR), in collaboration with the National Centre for Dalit Human […]
‘Statelessness’ of Dalit communities raised at the UN Forum on Minority Issues
Renu Sijapati from the Feminist Dalit Organization of Nepal (FEDO Nepal), gave a statement at the Forum underscoring the many obstacles faced by Dalits in Nepal in obtaining citizenship certificates, which would enable them to register on the voter’s list, register marriages or births, buy or sell land, appear in professional exams, open bank accounts or have […]
New IDSN strategy presented at the General Assembly 2018
Members and associates shared the latest updates from their respective countries and future plans were discussed. A new IDSN 5-year strategy was also adopted, which will be finalised and published in the beginning of 2019. The assembly provided a good platform to network and learn from each other […]
European Parliament calls on the EU to step up action at the UN and delegation levels to eliminate caste-based discrimination
PRESS RELEASE
December 12th 2018
The International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) welcomes today’s adoption of the European Parliament’s annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter.
Once again Members of the European Parliament have condemned, “the continuing human rights violations committed against people suffering from caste hierarchies and caste-based discrimination, […]
We have a dream
In 1948, the year that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed, thousands of Dalits gathered outside a temple in India, from which they had been barred entry because of their caste. A bill had been passed making it illegal to forbid entry to temples on the grounds of caste, but as the group approached, the temple priests […]