At an OECD side session on 10 February, speakers highlighted caste-based discrimination as a serious and often overlooked human rights risk in global supply chains and called for stronger action to address it through human rights due diligence.
The virtual session, From Principles to Practice: Addressing Caste and Advancing Nondiscrimination in Supply Chains, was hosted by the Fair Labor Association in collaboration with Arisa, the International Dalit Solidarity Network and the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. The discussion focused on how caste-based discrimination continues to affect workers in supply chains and on what companies can do in practice to identify, prevent and address these harms.
The session placed caste within the wider framework of non-discrimination, responsible business conduct and international labour standards. Speakers underlined that discrimination on the basis of caste, alongside ethnicity, gender, religion and migrant status, remains a persistent barrier to equal opportunity, decent work and fair treatment. They also stressed that caste-based discrimination is frequently hidden, underreported, or inadequately addressed in company systems and grievance mechanisms.
More than 500 participants registered for the side session, reflecting broad interest from across the business and human rights field. Registrations came from professionals working on social compliance, auditing, certification and due diligence, alongside participants from companies, civil society, trade unions, academic institutions and international organisations. This wide participation suggests that caste-based discrimination is increasingly being recognised not only as a serious human rights issue, but also as a practical challenge for supply-chain due diligence and corporate responsibility.
The programme examined the links between caste and work and how caste-based discrimination manifests in garment, footwear, textile, cotton and leather supply chains. Speakers also discussed practical steps that companies can take to strengthen their due diligence, including improving risk identification, ensuring equitable access to grievance mechanisms and taking corrective action where discrimination is found.
The discussion also referred to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which call on companies to pay particular attention to people who may face heightened risks because of marginalisation or vulnerability. In this context, the session underlined the importance of recognising caste as a relevant and material risk factor in efforts to prevent adverse human rights impacts in supply chains.
Speakers at the event were Meena Varma from IDSN, Beena Pallical from the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Sandra Claasen from Arisa. The session was moderated by Andrea Ackerman from the Fair Labor Association.
The event formed part of ongoing efforts to ensure that caste discrimination is explicitly recognised and addressed within international business and human rights framework and that companies move from general commitments on non-discrimination to concrete implementation in practice.
Watch the recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ACE5QbOzQ