Dalit woman appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Racism

IDSN welcomes the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Dr. Ashwini K.P., to the post.  Dr. K.P. brings with her valuable knowledge and insight on discrimination based on work and descent and the United Nations. In 2014, Dr. K.P. was part of an IDSN delegation to the […]

|Categories: Dalit Women, United Nations|Tags: |

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Dalit rights raised at the pre-session for the UN rights review of India

Dalit activists gathered in Geneva to take part in the pre-session for the Universal Periodic Review of India – scheduled for November 2022. Rahul Singh, the Director of the National Dalit Movement for Justice-NCDHR, an IDSN member organisation was present at the session. Mr. Singh engaged with multiple stakeholders throughout to enhance the understanding of the human […]

|Categories: Dalit Women, India, United Nations|Tags: |

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Speaking out against caste discrimination at the Women at Work Conference

A unique event organised by the Norwegian Human Rights Fund brought together, activists, experts, trade unions and several international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, IDSN and OSF.  In a session dedicated to addressing caste-based discrimination, the exploitation of Dalit women in work settings, was raised by speakers at the global Women at Work conference in Nepal, stressing […]

|Categories: Dalit Women, Human Rights Defenders, India, Manual Scavenging, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Violence and atrocities|Tags: |

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The UN Special Rapporteur on Slavery highlights the deep-rooted and intersecting forms of discrimination as main causes of contemporary forms of slavery affecting minorities

At the 51st Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Mr Tomoya Obokata, the Special Rapporteur on Slavery, will present his report focusing on the Contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities. Child labour and caste-based discrimination are closely interlinked alongside severe discrimination against Dalit women. The report explores the main causes of […]

|Categories: Bangladesh, Caste-based slavery, Dalit Women, Diaspora, India, Manual Scavenging, United Nations|Tags: |

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Recommendations for the 51st Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

IDSN has issued the following recommendations for the consideration of UN member states at the 51st Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council.  

|Categories: United Nations|Tags: |

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EU meeting with Ahmed Shaheed, the current UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief

In June, IDSN and a group of other civil society organisations met with Ahmed Shaheed, the current Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, in Brussels. Mr Shaheed was in Brussels to meet with the EU Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, and gather inputs for his next and last report focused mainly on indigenous people and […]

|Categories: European Union, United Nations|Tags: |

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Joint submission to the CERD Committee on the right to health

The Sexual Rights Initiative, National Council of Women Leaders (NCWL), Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRDNet), AWID, Her Rights Initiative (HRI) and IDSN have worked together to create a submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to inform the elaboration of its General Recommendation n°37 on racial discrimination and the […]

|Categories: Health, India, United Nations|Tags: |

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Recommendations for the 50th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

IDSN has issued the following recommendations for the consideration of UN member states at the 50th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council.  

|Categories: United Nations|Tags: |

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Leave no-one behind: Addressing business-related human rights issues and exclusion of communities on the basis of caste and descent

IDSN and the UN OHCHR Minority section brought together an experts’ round table discussion to mark the 30th Anniversary of the UN Minority mandate. It was an incredibly rewarding two hours of discussion and sharing, with a very diverse group of speakers. With activists from all over South Asia, Japan and the USA, participants addressed descent and work-based discrimination […]

|Categories: Human Rights Defenders, United Nations|Tags: |

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UN Expert on Extreme Poverty Presents his Visit Report to Nepal, highlighting his concerns about Dalits and their susceptibility to poverty

The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Olivier de Schutter, presented to the Human Rights Council his visit report to Nepal, which took place from 29 November to 9 December 2021. His visit was supported by IDSN and its national partners Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) and

|Categories: United Nations|Tags: |

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