Protest march against diversion of funds meant for Dalits
On April 24th thousands of Dalits marched towards the Indian Parliament to reclaim their rights to vast funds meant for Dalits, which have been diverted or misallocated, to benefit other sections of society. The funds could help lift millions of Dalits out of extreme poverty but are instead being used on general schemes, hardly benefitting Dalits. On the 9th of May, Dalits across several states in India, will also march to put pressure on the Government to ensure that funds allocated for Dalits actually benefit Dalits.
Manual Scavenging highlighted by ILO and others in conferences, reports and a hearing
These past months have seen a flurry of activity to support the struggle to end the abhorrent practice of Dalits being employed to remove human waste from dry latrines manually which persists despite having been officially abolished by law in India since 1993. In India, the ILO has organised a conference to address this problem, a National Public Hearing has been held by the National Campaign for Dignity and Eradication of Manual Scavenging, reports have been released and media have reported widely about the persistence of the practice.
The European Parliament recommends EU legislation and policy measures to eliminate caste discrimination
In the European Parliament’s resolution on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World and the European Union’s policy on the matter, the European Parliament highlights caste discrimination and, “Recommends initiatives for EU legislation to ensure that attention is paid in EU human rights policy and cooperation instruments to eliminating caste discrimination, and action in caste-affected countries, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Yemen.”
Akhdam community in Yemen protest over discrimination and neglect
The Al-Akhdam community, a minority group, which is regarded as an "untouchable" outcaste group in Yemen are protesting against rampant discrimination resulting in low wages, horrendous living standards and inequality in access to services.
Norway’s Minister for International Development speaks out against caste discrimination
In a statement in a leading Norwegian newspaper the Minister for International Development speaks out strongly against caste discrimination and urges international involvement in the issue.
35 videos documenting caste discrimination across India launched tomorrow
The myth that caste discrimination in India is a thing of the past must be dispelled and on the 14th of April, Video Volunteers launch 35 community videos documenting caste discrimination across 12 states in India, to mark Ambedkar day, the birthday of a Dalit hero who fought for equality and justice for India’s Dalits.
UN expert concerned about “high levels of impunty” in India
After recently visiting India, the UN expert on extrajudicial executions, Mr. Christof Heyns, expressed concern about the plight of Dalits in India and called on the Government of India to continue to take measures to fight impunity in cases of extrajudicial executions, and communal and traditional killings.
UPR recommendations: Caste discrimination in India and the UK
India and the UK will be up for review by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council at the 13th UPR session in May. Both countries have been scheduled to take place on the same day, 24 May 2012.
Dalit human rights defenders need urgent protection says UN expert at UN Side-event
The UN Expert on Human Rights Defenders, Ms. Margaret Sekaggya, spoke out against the unacceptable situation faced by those defending Dalit human rights in South Asia, at a UN side-event, held on March 9th in Geneva, where panellists also included Dalit human rights defenders from several caste-affected countries in the region.
New publication: Report and Compilation of Good Practices from the International Consultation on Caste-Based Discrimination
The report is an outcome of the International Consultation on Caste-Based Discrimination: Good practices and strategies to eliminate caste discrimination by governments, civil society, national & international institutions...