Human Rights Watch urges EU to take immediate steps to eliminate abuses against Dalits
In a letter to the Presidents of the European Council and European Commission regarding the EU India summit, Human Rights Watch strongly urge the EU to address a number of pressing human rights issues in India including the situation of Dalits.
Atrocities against Dalit women go unpunished – new study from Navsarjan Trust
Navsarjan Trust have released the study 'Gender Violence and Access to Justice for Dalit Women in collaboration with Minority Rights Group International. The report finds Dalit women face severe difficulties in accessing justice and are extremely vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and other atrocities.
Opening the door to equal justice for Dalits in Nepal: OHCHR-Nepal disseminates its report
The United Nations Human Rights Office in Nepal (OHCHR Nepal) organized a regional symposium on access to justice for victims of caste-based discrimination. Challenges, lessons learned and good practices from Nepal were shared with participants from the country and other South Asian nations. The Office’s report - Opening the Doors to Equality: Access to Justice for Dalits in Nepal - served as the basis for the discussion.
Dalit women participate in the UN Forum on Minority Issues
Dalit human rights defenders from India, Nepal and Bangladesh voiced their concerns about effective political participation of Dalit women at the 4th session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues. The thematic focus of the session, which was held in Geneva on 29-30 November 2011, was “Guaranteeing the rights of minority women”.
AHRC Statement: India: Dalits should save themselves through justice reforms
A way to effectively address caste-based discrimination in India is by reforming institutions of justice administration. This means changing the manner in which institutions like the police, prosecution and judiciary function in the region. At the moment, what are obtained in the name of human rights are only empty promises. When public institutions of justice fail having a law to guarantee non-discrimination of Dalits is of no meaning. What is achieved in India will have tremendous influence in the region.
AHRC Statement: NEPAL: Commitments to accountability and justice continue to be jeopardized in 2011
"The adoption of legislation criminalizing caste-based discrimination was a great achievement in 2011 for the Dalit community, who had long been advocating for this legislation. However, this legislation runs the risk of being rendered meaningless, if no tangible rejuvenation of the justice system takes place."
Urgent Global Call for Action to End Caste Discrimination
Press Release: Activists, members of international organisations, NGOs, Solidarity Networks and researchers from across the world, have launched a landmark Urgent Global Call for Action to Eliminate Caste-Based Discrimination.The call was launched on the 1st December, as an outcome of the International Consultation on Good Practices and Strategies to Eliminate Caste Based Discrimination, held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
AHRC Letter: Nepal: Government should prioritize Dalits’ food security
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls for Government attention to Nepal’s Dalits, the Gandharva community in particular, who suffer from severe food insecurity and poverty.
UN: End the bonded labour system in Nepal
The UN and national level Dalit bodies are urging the Government to end the bonded labour system in Nepal, known as the Haliya system, and implement rehabilitation schemes for freed Haliyas. Haliyas in Nepal are predominantly Dalits, excluded from other work due to rampant caste discrimination.
Pakistan’s Dalits denied flood relief because of caste discrimination
Desperately needed shelter and relief items are not reaching hundreds of thousands of Dalits who are left homeless after the severe flooding in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Dalits are being discriminated against because their caste relegates them to the bottom of the social order in Pakistan and ‘untouchability practices’ exclude them from sharing the same shelters as other members of society.