‘Another Apartheid?’ – New report looks into caste discrimination and UK companies (5-5-2008)
A report released by the Dalit Solidarity Network UK on 22 April 2008 concludes that many UK companies have failed to develop policies which will address the problems of caste discrimination in India.
”We strongly believe that all those becoming involved in the Indian economy need to be aware of the caste issue and willing actively to address it in whatever way they can. It is of particular importance now with the huge growth in the Indian economy and the potential for companies such as yours ”, says Meena Varma, Director of Dalit Solidarity Network, UK, in the foreword.
The report gives an initial profile of eight companies and banks that are currently increasing their involvement in India.
National Dalit platform established in Bangladesh (28-04-2008)
After a two day national workshop, 25 organisations representing Dalits and other deprived communities came together and formed the Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement. The new national body demands that discrimination on the basis of caste a punishable offence in Bangladesh. ‘We demand implementation of the International Convention on Eradication of all Racial Discrimination,’ said the general secretary of the organisation, Milon Das. He also demanded formation of a commission which would formulate policies to address the inequalities and discrimination faced by the affected communities in terms of housing, education and civic rights.
CHRGJ Releases Groundbreaking Report on Nepalese Dalit Rights (22-4-2008)
Nepal's new constitution must recognize and protect the fundamental human rights of Dalits, says a new report released today by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law. The report was released on the heels of Nepal's historic Constituent Assembly elections held on April 10, 2008.
The 89-page report Recasting Justice: Securing Dalit Rights in Nepal's New Constitution analyzes Nepal's Interim Constitution to inform how the new constitution may be drafted in accordance with the country's international human rights obligations to secure the rights of Dalits-a group which has faced more than 2000 years of systematic discrimination on the basis of caste. As Nepal prepares its new constitution after years of prolonged civil war, Recasting Justice provides Nepalese lawmakers with tangible means to demonstrate the country's commitment to the inherent dignity and human rights of all individuals.
The report and other background materials, including a summary briefing paper in both English and Nepali, are available at www.chrgj.org
Ambedkar Day call: Eliminate the worst job in the world
An appeal has gone out on the occasion of Ambedkar Day from the Dalit Solidarity Network - UK to the Indian government to eliminate manual scavenging by 2009/10. Manual scavenging is an inhuman practice where Dalits are employed to remove human excrement from dry toilets and sewers using basic tools. Though this practice was abolished by law in 1993, it is estimated by the Indian Government that 1.3 million Dalits, mostly women are still employed as manual scavengers across India. The call marks the beginning of an international campaign initiated by Safai Karmachari Andolan - 'the Liberation Movement of those employed as scavengers’- to end manual scavenging before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
Similar calls have been made by the Dalit Network Netherlands and the Rafto Foundation in Norway. The Rafto Foundation awarded the 2007 Rafto prize to the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) from India.
India questioned on caste discrimination in the UN (11-04-2008)
On 10 April, the human rights situation of India was scrutinised by the UN Human Rights Council under the newly established Universal Periodic Review procedure. India was among the first countries up for review. A number of countries raised concerns over the human rights situation of Dalits and other marginalised groups, including specific questions on the compliance with recommendations of the CERD to India. A summary of the discussions from the interactive dialogue can be seen in the report of the working group published on 15 April.
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) and the International Movement against All Forms of Racism and Discrimination (IMADR) appeal to the Indian Government to move away from a state of denial of the scale and seriousness of caste-based discrimination. Instead they should seek constructive solutions with the assistance of the international community.
Read the full press statement here
Read the report of the working group on India
Universal Periodic Review: Caste-based
discrimination in India, Pakistan, Japan and Sri Lanka
(08-04-08)
The Government of
India will be reviewed by the newly established UPR
mechanism in the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 10 April 14:30-17:00 (GMT+1).
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international associate
of IDSN, states in a press release
"India: UN Human Rights Council Should Tackle
Impunity" on 7 April that "the Council should
demand that the Government fulfill its
responsibility to protect and support vulnerable
communities, including Dalits, tribal groups,
religious minorities, and women".
The review can be followed from a live webcast on the UN Human Rights Council's website. You can also download the reports prepared in relation to the 1st and 2nd UPR session by states, the OHCHR and civil society organisations according to session/country on the official UPR website. The OHCHR has prepared a summary of other stakeholders' information (NGOs), and the reports on India, Pakistan, Japan and Sri Lanka all take up the issue of caste-based discrimination, which show the result of the network's efforts to consistently raise this issue as part of this new mechanism.
Recommendations and reports for the UPR review:
- Download a list prepared by IMADR, NCDHR, LWF and IDSN with a summary of the eleven most important recommendations to the Council related to the review of India;
- Read a summary of the references to caste-based discrimination in the stakeholders' reports related to the review of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Japan;
- Download the UPR reports prepared by IDSN in association with members from the network;
- Read more about the UPR mechanism.
India to be reviewed by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (01-04-08)
On 7-8 May 2008 the the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reviews the Government of India's implementation of the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) has prepared a final alternate report and submitted it to the OHCHR secretariat on 1 April in association with IDSN.
Dowload the alternate report prepared by NCDHR and find links to the state report and list of issues prepared by the Committee in May 2007 under IDSN and UN treaty bodies.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination commemorated by Dalits in Bangladesh (21-3-2008)
Bangladesh Dalits' Human Rights (BDHR), Dalit Women Forum (DWF) and Dalit Youth Forum (DYF) held a joint meeting on the occasion of the International Day of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March, 2008 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Speakers at the meeting representing national Dalit organisations requested that all forms of racial discrimination against Dalits and other socially excluded communities in Bangladesh be eliminated. One of the demands echoed by the speakers was to make special allocations for Dalits in the upcoming national budget and special quota in educational institutes as well as all government and non government organizations for suitable jobs, because the Government of Bangladesh is obliged by the Constitution to make special provisions for Backward Classes. Moreover, the speakers raised a concern about housing facilities in permanent shelters in Government lands.
Human rights defenders from caste-affected countries tell UN to deal with unfinished business (17-3-2008)
Despite the UN reform process, important work done on caste-based discrimination should not be lost. That was the message delivered by human rights defenders from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on 12 March in Geneva at a parallel event on the occasion of the 7th session of the Human Rights Council.
Ms. Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as Ms. Gay McDougall, Independent Expert on Minority Issues, agreed and advised on ways in which the draft principles and guidelines for the effective elimination of discrimination based on work and descent prepared by Special Rapporteurs, Professors Yokata and Chung can be adopted formally under the new UN structure. Ms. Gay McDougall spoke at the parallel event while Ms Louise Arbour had a separate meeting with the delegation of human rights defenders.
The parallel event was hosted by the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Pax Romana/ICMICA MIIC and FORUM-ASIA as co-hosts and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) as an associate.
Click here to read the full report from the parallel event.
'Untouchability’ in Indian budget allocations – 71 percent of allocated funds diverted from Dalits (4-3-2008)
According to the Indian National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), the 48.6 million Euros diverted were earmarked to benefit Dalits, the so-called ‘scheduled castes’, as well as the so-called ‘scheduled tribes’ in India. A special plan for securing funds for the poverty stricken and systematically marginalised Dalits has been in place for 27 years, but diversion of funds earmarked for Dalits is not new. Under the current government coalition, however, amount of funds diverted has increased.
Dalits will be missing out on what could have been a massive effort against poverty. This year alone, the diverted funds could have helped 10 million children gain access to education, built one hundred thousand health centres in rural areas, set up two hundred thousand small scale industries as well as provided five hundred thousand ‘scheduled caste’ and ‘scheduled tribe’ families with one acre of land each.
The effects of the continuing diversion of funds are clear. A 2006-2007 report from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India documents many deficiencies when it comes to funds allocated for education. In recent years the gap between gross drop out and gross enrolment rates between general candidates and candidates from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has increased.
For more information:
See article in the Economic Times
India: Primary school teachers in prison after discrimination against Dalit children (29-2-2008)
In Uttar Pradesh three primary school teachers were imprisoned under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act for making Dalit children sit separtely during the mid-day meal. See article in The Hindu.
Joint NGO statement on caste-based discrimination submitted to the UN Human Rights Council (20-2-2008)
A group of 19 NGOs have submitted a joint written statement, calling for the Human Rights Council to make caste-based discrimination a priority as a serious contemporary human rights problem.
The NGOs behind the statement urge the Council to create an appropriate procedure for the consideration and adoption of the final report submitted by the two special rapporteurs of the former Sub-Commission, Professors Yokota and Chung, regarding discrimination based on work and descent, and for appropriate action on the draft principles and guidelines included in that report, which is mandated by a decision of the Commission of Human Rights in 2005.
The draft principles and guidelines can be a very important tool for fulfilling the responsibility to the more than 260 million people who suffer oppression and human rights violations due to their caste status.
UPR submission on Pakistan and Sri Lanka (8-2-2008)
A joint NGO submission on caste-based discrimination in Pakistan have been submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session in May 2008. The UPR is a new mechanism established by the Human Rights Council where each member state undergoes a review of the state's overall human rights performance. This alternative report, which have been drafted in collaboration with national organisations, researchers and other stakeholders, is unique in the sense that it for the first time in a UN context documents the extent and scope of caste-based discrimination in Pakistan. The findings and recommendations in the report are mainly based on the national research project undertaken in 2006-2007, as well as other available human rights reports and UN treaty body recommendations. They also include references to the draft Principles and Guidelines on the elimination of discrimination based on work and descent and recommend to the Human Rights Council that such guidelines be adopted and used as a guiding framework for preventing caste-based discrimination in these countries.
IDSN submitted the Pakistan report in association Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)
Download the report from the link below or read more about the UPR mechanism.
UPR submission on caste-based discrimination in Pakistan
UPR submission on caste-based discrimination in Sri Lanka
‘India Untouched – Stories of A People Apart’, a documentary film by Stalin K., won the Best Documentary Award at the 10th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animations Films (2008). The jury applauded the documentary for achieving the ideals of socially and politically committed documentary film making and said that "the film unflinchingly uncovers the all pervasive, deeply rooted and still existing caste system in twenty first century India, with chilling evidence that it shows no sign of abating in generations to come." The Jury recommended it as essential viewing for all audience worldwide. Behind the award show stand Films Division, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and the Government of India.
Read more about the award here
Urgent appeal on 13 Dalits taken into custody in Tamil Nadu, India (04-02-08)
13 Dalits were taken into custody on 10 January 2008 in a tragic escalation of a struggle for equal rights that has lasted more than four decades in Tamil Nadu, India.
On 29 January, the Asian Human Rights Commission posted an urgent appeal on their website to aid the 13 villagers from the Sawyerpuram panchayat. The conflict between the Dalit villagers and the administration goes back to 1964 where Sawyerpuram annexed Iruvappapuram – a fairly well functioning and Dalit governed panchayat.
Since then Dalits have been discriminated against by being denied proper representation in the Town Panchayat and by systematically being denied the benefits of development works.
On 9 January 2008, after a series of protests, the panchayat sent in about a 100 police officers and force was used. The next day, the police rounded up 13 villagers, among them two children and leaders of the protest actions.
Join the Asian Human Rights Commission’s call for the case against the villagers to be withdrawn, for the concerns of the people of Iruvappapuram to be addressed, and for proper representation in elected bodies.
Act now: Click here to send an urgent appeal
High Commissioner Strategic Management Plan 2008-2009: Impunity, weak institutions and discrimination focus areas in Asia (15-01-08)
In the High Commissioner’s Strategic Management Plan 2008-2009, the focus areas for the next biennium in the Asian region are impunity, weak institutions and discrimination. In the Field of Work plans for 2008-2009 the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has selected caste-based discrimination to be one of the areas of concerns that will be the focus of attention of its work in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the report, the High Commissioner states that: ”Many countries (in the Asia-Pacific region) continue to enjoy rapid economic development, but this in turn creates pressures on marginalized and disadvantaged groups. At the same time poverty, gender inequality and patterns of discrimination remain deeply entrenched.” [...] “OHCHR’s focus on combating discrimination will vary from country to country, ranging from gender concerns to indigenous people to caste-based discrimination.”
Apart from the regional office in Bangkok, the OHCHR will work in a number of caste-affected countries including Nepal and Sri Lanka. There is, however, there is no mentioning of India in connection with the report. Link to the Strategic Management Plan 2008-2009
IDSN welcomes the initiative to address caste-based discrimination and recommends the OHCHR to use the draft UN principles and guidelines on the effective elimination of discrimination based on work and descent, prepared by two Special Rapporteurs pursuant to resolution 2005/109 by the former Commission on Human Rights, as a guiding framework for mainstreaming initiatives to prevent caste-based discrimination in Asia.
National consultation calls for the strengthening of Dalit human rights in India (05-12-07)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) in association with nearly 40 regional and national organisations in India organised a national consultation on 3-4 December 2007 in New Delhi. At the consultations the participants expressed their discontent with the ineffective judicial system; with the impunity enjoyed by offenders of crimes against Dalits; and the need for unified interventions by civil society to eliminate caste-based discrimination. This resulted in a number of recommendations to the NHRC and the Government at both central and state level for the effective implementation of existing legal standards to protect Dalit human rights in India.
National Human Rights Commission names caste-based discrimination among the key human rights issues in Nepal (21-11-2007)
In their summary report on the Status of Human Rights under the Comprehensive Peace Agreeement, the NHRC of Nepal highlights the continuation of discrimination against Dalits, as one of the most pertinent human rights issues of the country, stating that "... the Dalit Community is still facing obstructions in enjoying right to life with dignity. "
The report covering the period 26 February to 16 July 2007, notes that there has been "no remarkable achievement in the human rights situation", focussing mainly on the human rights violations by sections of the police and the army, as well as Maoist groups, and the fragile situation in the Terai region.
Joint NGO submission on caste-based discrimination in India for the Universal Periodic Review (20-11-2007)
A joint submission on caste-based discrimination in India was sent to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) for the UPR mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council in April 2008.
Download the joint NGO submission by NCDHR, IDSN, IMADR and LWF
Read more about the UPR mechanism here
Caste-discrimination documented in Bangladesh and Pakistan (20-11-2007)
New social research has documented that caste-based discrimination affects millions of people in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, countries not tradtionally associated with the practice of untouchability. The findings come as a challenge to the governments of these South Asian nations, none of which acknowledge the existence of caste discrimination within their countries.
Related articles:
Seminar presents groundbreaking research on caste discrimination in South Asia
Research casts light on the ”invisible” Dalits of Bangladesh and Pakistan
Millinium Development Goals: Mostly for non-Dalits?
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights receives Rafto Prize at award ceremony in Norway (06-11-2007)
At an award ceremony on 4 November 2007, the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) received the Rafto Prize 2007 for their continuing struggle against discrimination of Dalit human rights in India. The award is an important recognition of NCDHR’s work and of the struggle to end discrimination and human rights violations against India’s 167 million Dalits. The Rafto Foundation had organised a number of events including a symposium where NCDHR leaders, and human rights experts and academicians gave their views on the situation that Dalits face in India.
For further information about the award ceremony and the symposiums organised go to the Rafto Foundation website. Here you will also find press releases, media responses and statements delivered by Vincent Manoharan, Paul Divakar and Vimal Thorat, who on behalf of NCDHR received the award.
Read also IDSN's press statement when it was first announced that NCDHR was awarded the Rafto Prize 2007 on 20 September 2007.
Arrest warrants against perpetrators of Bihar massacre (16-10-07)
On 13 September ten Dalits were lynched by a mob of villagers in Dhelpurwa in the Indian state of Bihar. After reports of professional negligence the state government has decided to initiate departmental proceedings against police officers of Vaishali district, including the superintendent of police. Three officials have been suspended and two police officers have been transferred after it was found that the dead bodies had been thrown into the river and not cremated as is required.
National legal action has been taken mainly due to heavy pressure from among civil society organisations, the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes, and the National Human Rights Commission. Despite the legal proceedings in this case, the Bihar Times reports on 13 October that more than 20 people have been killed in the district in similar cases since the Dhelpurwa massacre. However, legal remedies have not made available in these cases which have not been subject to large public attention.
Observations of the fact-finding team and recommendations by NCDHR can be found on NCDHR's website.
Link to article in Bihar Times: Court orders attachment of property of 10 in lynching case (13 October)
National seminar on caste-based discrimination in Bangladesh sparks off media interest (11-09-07)
Bangladesh Dalits Human Rights (BDHR) and Nagorik Uddyog (NU) held a seminar entitled The Situation of Dalits in Bangladesh: Possible Way Forward on 6-7 September 2007. The seminar, which was part of the regional research project on caste-based discrimination in South Asia, sparked off a great interest in the national media. Professor Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury from the Department of Sociology, University of Chittagong presented the findings from the study he has undertaken among Dalits in Bangladesh.
Read the two articles in The Daily Star (8 September 2007)
Dalits in Bihar floods suffer double (14-07-07)
An immidiate Rapid Survey in the Indian state of Bihar conducted by an 11-member team representing various Dalit organisations has shown that Dalits are disproportionately affected by the floods. Dalit communities live separately from the main villages, usually in low-lying areas more prone to flooding. Moreover, houses are of poorer quality made of mud which are easily destroyed by rains and floods. The survey team found that despite the fact that the Dalit population is harder hit by the disaster in terms of loss of life and property, they are not reached by the relief measures provided by the Government and NGOs.
The findings of the team have been addressed to the Governor of Bihar in a letter, which includes a situation report and recommendations of measures to be taken to deal with discrimination. Among the suggestions is a call to for the state relief and rehabilitation structures to set up Dalit Watch Centres in order to ensure equity and inclusion in the humanitarian aid to those affected by the floods.
Click here to read the letter to the Governor of Bihar with the full list of recommendations and the main findings of the survey team.
Reservation policies for civil service in Nepal adopted (06-07-07)
On August 3rd the Nepalese parliament adopted a bill amending the Civil Service Act 1993. The amendments provide reservations for disadvantaged groups by allocating 45 percent of the jobs in the bureacracy to these groups. Of the 45 percent posts, 33 percent are allocated to women, 27 percent to Janajati (indigeneous groups), 22 percent to Madhesi (Terai population), 9 percent to Dalits, while the physically challenged are allocated 5 percent and people from backward regions 4 percent.
While expressing satisfaction with the ground-breaking introduction of reservations in the public administration where Dalits are hardly represented today, the Dalit NGO Federation demands a 20 percent quota of the all posts in the civil service for Dalits equal to their proportion of the population.
US House of Representatives passes resolution against caste discrimination (30-07-07)
With an overwhelming majority, the US House of Representatives on on 24 July passed a Congressional Resolution denouncing caste discrimination and untouchability practises in India. The resolution points at the need for action against caste discrimination in Government interactions with India, in development assistance, as well as for private companies to address the issue of caste in all their business dealings with India. The final passing of the resolutions awaits a vote in the US Senate.
CNN-IBN 30 Minutes: "Manual scavengers - victims of caste pyramid" (22-07-07)
The degrading practise of manual scavenging in India was subject for investigation in a 30 Minutes documentary broadcasted by the CNN-IBN TV channel in July 2007. The documentary "Manual scavengers - victims of caste pyramid" gives a solid insight into the horrible living conditions that manual scavengers live under and shows how the practise of manual scavenging is continously carried out by Dalits - a practise which for thousands of years have deprived Dalits of their fundamental rights and of living in dignity.
Here you can read more about the documentary.
Click here to see the 30 Minutes documentary on manual scavenging in India.
Work, culture and and sociality in the Indian IT industry (17-07-07)
In a final report submitted to the Indo-Dutch Programme for Alternative Development, a sociological study of the Indian IT industry highlights the social profile of the IT workforce and the processes through which it is produced and recruited. The report makes some interesting observations about the linkages between caste-based discrimination and the exclusion of lower caste people from recruitment of the IT work force in India.
To read more, click here.
UK House of Commons debate on India Country Assistance Plan (12-07-07)
On 28 June the UK House of Commons debated the new India Country Assistance Plan to discuss the future aid programmes in India. Several critical questions were raised by MPs on the Government's approach to the problem of discrimination based on caste and descent, and extensive replys were given by the Government representative.
To read the record of the debate, click here.
National research seminars in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan (11-07-07)
National research seminars have successfully been
held in
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights urges Government of Nepal to end impunity (31-05-07)
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) examined Nepal's second periodic report on 1-2 May 2007.
Click here to read more about the Concluding Observations and NGO inputs.
Concerns over India uncontested bid for re-election to the UN Human Rights Council (21-05-2007)
In a press statement released on 17 May 2007, several human rights groups, including FORUM-ASIA, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE), South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR), Peoples Watch (PW) and others, have demanded that India honour its commitments to human rights while it goes for an uncontested bid for its re-election to the UN Human Rights Council slated for 17 May 2007 at UN General Assembly in New York. Despite the concerns, India was re-elected as a member of the Human Rights Council. The press statement serves, however, as a reminder of the obligations that the Government of India must demonstrate in order to show its true commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in the relatively newly established human rights body.
Alternate report on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in India (21-05-2007)
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) has submitted an alternate report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on India's implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Click here to read more.
Indian People's Tribunal on Untouchability (21-05-2007)
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and Human Rights Law Network joined forces to bring together 56 national and state level organisations from across India, as well as activists and victims to discuss and address untouchability and to address cases and the individuals the legal system has so far failed on 12-13 May 2007 in New Delhi.
Click here to read the observations and recommendations.
Pakistan Dalits call on President to address caste discrimination (11-05-2007)
In an open letter to President Musharraf, The Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan calls for support from the President to end discrimination against Dalits in Pakistan.
Click here to read the letter.
UK Parliament debates caste discrimination in India (11-05-2007)
An adjournement debate on caste discrimination in India took place in the British House of Commons on 8 May. From across parties, MPs spoke of the consequences of the continued practice of untouchability, bonded labour, atrocities and impunity and the large gap between legislation to protect Dalits and actual implementation, explicitly referring to the gross negligence by the police in the Kharilanji case, where four Dalits were brutally murdered.
Members called for active UK policies to adddress caste discrimination in coperation with India, including the role of UK companies investing in India to work against caste discrimination. Minister for Europe, Mr. Geoffrey Hoon, stressed the importance of India following the recommendations of the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racism in February 2007.
Click here for a transcript of the debate.
US House of Representatives denounces untouchability
On May 1 a
historic resolution was introduced in the US
House of Representatives that denounces the practice
of “untouchability” and declares that the
The introduction of the resolution followed a briefing held by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which heard testimonies by Kumar Swamy, South India Director of the All Christian Council; T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia & the Pacific, Amnesty International; Nanci Ricks, President of Dalit Freedom Network; Joseph D’Souza, International President of Dalit Freedom Network and Smita Narula, Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the New York University School of Law.
For more information, see the website of Dalit Freedom Network.
Click here for Prof. Smita Narula's testimony at the briefing.
2007- 2017 as SAARC Dalits' rights decade
The three-day People's SAARC conference of civil society and and political leaders held in Kathmandu from March 23 adopted its first declaration vowing to work for people-based democratic system of governance to develop and strengthen good governance from the grassroots to national and regional levels. The Kathmandu Declaration includes a demand to declare 2007 - 2017 Decade for Dalit Rights.
The People’s SAARC is a focal point and platform for sharing, forging and strengthening solidarity linkages along like-minded action groups, resources agencies, progressive individuals working for people centred democratic developement.
Click here for more information
UN anti-discrimination committee finds pervasive abuse against India's Dalits (12-03-2007)
On March 9, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued its Concluding Observations regarding India’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee’s report found that “de facto segregation of Dalits persists” and highlighted systematic abuse against Dalits including torture and extrajudicial killings, an “alarming” extent of sexual violence against Dalit women, and caste discrimination in post-tsunami relief.
Click here to read more.
Award of honour to Indian Dalit Human Rights Activist (12-03-2007)
On March 8, the National Legal Services Authority
and the Institute of Gender Justice jointly honoured
Ms. Urmila Devi, Secretary Monitoring, National
Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, for the contribution
towards human rights and social justice with Gender
justice as a core issue. The award was presented by
Justice KG Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice of India
at the Ashok Theatre,
Systematic discrimination against Tsunami victims continues (21-02-2007)
Two years after the devastating Tsunami hit coastal areas of Asia, Dalit Network Netherlands publishes a report documenting that discrimination on the basis of caste in the aftermath of the tsunami is an unquestionable fact. The testimonies of Dalit victims of the tsunami all along the Indian coast of Tamilnadu show remarkable consistency, pointing to a systematic and predictable type of discrimination. These testimonies are backed up by previously published reports by NGOs, a major National Public Hearing, reports by Indian journalists, and dozens of interviews with the various stakeholders conducted during the course of this research. The discrimination was present at all phases of the recovery process, from the denial of rice, the refusal to share emergency shelter, the removal of bodies, and the relief materials provided, through to the compensation and provision of livelihood assistance and housing. The report "Making Things Worse" shows that discrimination began in the first week after the disaster and was still very much in evidence in January 200, more than one year after the tsunami.
This report provides information, evidence and analysis of caste discrimination in post-tsunami recovery operations in Tamilnadu, India, and furthermore provides a series of recommendations to assist ethical agencies to avoid repeating the same mistakes in future disaster relief operations. It is demonstrated that unless government, Church bodies or NGOs have an analysis, strategies and training programmes designed to counter caste discrimination, which is so deeply entrenched in Indian society, they will effectively reinforce it.
Click here for the media release.
European Parliament adopts strong resolution on the human rights of the Dalits in India (01-02-2007)
On February 1st, the plenary of the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation of the Dalits in India.
Click here to read more about the resolution and IDSN's work with the EU institutions.