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Dalits in India have for centuries been forced into working without proper tools or protective gear to clean dry latrines, sewers and septic tanks, a practice known as ‘manual scavenging’. This is not only demeaning, but also extremely dangerous work and activists have been campaigning for many years for the proper implementation of laws banning the practice and rehabilitating those who have been engaged in it. This past month it has been uncovered that in the Delhi municipality alone, there has been an alarmingly high number of deaths of sanitation workers lowered into the city's sewers with no equipment to protect them. Activists are sending the message that India must #stopkillingus and that the caste-based practice must end now. (Photo: SKA) Read more here
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On 28 August 2018, five prominent Indian human rights activists were arrested during simultaneous police raids conducted across India. The raids were part of an investigation into events that occurred earlier this year during a Dalit commemoration of an 1818 battle in Bhima Koregaon in which many Dalits lost their lives, and they follow a wider crackdown on Indian activists in recent months. IDSN and MRG strongly condemn the arrests. Read the statement here
In a U-turn policy change the UK Government has decided that despite reports commissioned by the Government itself finding evidence of caste-based rights violations in the UK, caste will not be included as a protected characteristic alongside race, religion and ethnicity in the UK Equalities Act. Read more here
UN side-event hears cases of caste-based violence against Dalit women in India where UN and legal experts respond with calls for action. The report ‘Voices Against Caste Impunity: Narratives of Dalit Women in India’, was also released at the event and an outcome document with recommendations from the event has been produced. Read the IDSN news on the event here
An IDSN delegation took part in the European Development Days in Brussels from 5-6 June 2018, organized by the European Commission. The delegation included Asha Kowtal from the National Dalit Women’s movement –the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM), in India, and Renu Sijapati from the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) in Nepal. Read more here
IDSN engaged with the 39th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), held in the Palais des Nations from the 10th to the 28th of September 2018. IDSN delivered statements, lobbied Member States and OHCHR staff and met with the High Commissioner and the NGO Committee. Read a summary of IDSN's interventions here
In his address to the Human Rights Council, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, raised concern over the “repeated deferrals and apparent lack of transparency amounting to a de facto rejection on the granting of IDSN’s UN consultative status.” Read more here
The now former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presented his Annual Report to the UN Human Rights Council. The report features concern over the continuous deferral of applications for UN consultative status from civil society organisations and includes direct reference to IDSN’s application, which has been unjustly deferred by the UN NGO Committee for 10 years. Read more here
IDSN and 257 other NGOs issued a statement for the meeting between the ECOSOC NGO Committee and accredited NGOS, raising concern over the “practices of the Committee that have inappropriately blocked the participation of some NGOs, in particular human rights NGOs, through procedural tactics including perpetual and repetitive questioning of applicants." Read more here
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, has been asked by a Member of the European Parliament, Jean Lambert, to outline any specific steps that the EU has taken to proactively support IDSN’s Consultative Status at the UN to date and what plans exist for future support. Read more here
The EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs has reiterated the EU’s commitment to fighting caste-based discrimination and gender-based violence, following the rape of five female anti-trafficking activists in India, earlier this summer. The women were performing a play against human trafficking in Jharkhand state when they were abducted and gang-raped. Read more here
Members of the European Parliament have asked the EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs to respond on how caste discrimination was addressed at the EU-India Summit. Read the question and answer here
IDSN member the Feminist Dalit Organisation – FEDO, in collaboration with Nepal Human Rights Commission and Open Society Justice Initiative, organised a three-day conference on "Equal access to justice for all: Using law to dismantle caste based discrimination in South Asia." This was attended by national human rights practitioners and advocates from the region, key state champions and regional actors to highlight the state and national efforts to advance the rights of Dalit and marginalized communities. The practitioners shared their experiences, examples of how organizations and coalitions are implementing wide-ranging changes to advance justice, and discuss ways that legal advocates and community partners can collaborate across organizations and coalitions to forge a way forward. Participants released a declaration from the conference and a report has also been produced. Read more here
IDSN member National Dalit Watch-NCDHR has taken part in a vulnerability mapping initiative, identifying areas where marginalised communities in four districts of Kerala have been excluded from the rescue operations and relief activities following devastating flooding in the area. IDSN members in India are responding to the reports of discrimination with relief measures, fact-finding and supporting those affected by the flooding, to claim their rights. Read more here
The Australian Parliament has passed a landmark motion urging the Government to take action on fighting caste-based discrimination. Read more here
The newly released Human Rights Watch World Report 2018, Amnesty International Report 2018 and the US State Department reports on India and Nepal, find that caste-based discrimination and violence remain serious threats as hate crimes against Dalits are widespread. Some of the other themes raised in the reports include discrimination in accessing services, ´manual scavenging´ and bonded labour. Read more here
Prior to the International Symposium on UN Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination in Tokyo. IMADR and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) held the International Consultation for the Elimination of Descent- Based Discrimination in Osaka on 9 April. The Consultation was attended by representatives from Dalit civil society in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, leaders of Buraku Liberation League (BLL), the former UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues and a representative from the OHCHR. As an outcome document of the consultation, Dalit and Buraku civil society organisations adopted the “Declaration for the Elimination of Descent-Based Discrimination”. Download the full declaration here.
UN Women feature a profile of Dalit activist, Moni Rani Das, and the struggle for Dalit rights and women’s rights in Bangladesh. Read the UN Women feature here
The National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) is formulating guidelines, for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in India, on how to prevent caste-based violence in schools as part of its campaign of achieving zero discrimination. Read more here
New Reports:
EU: Human Rights Report country chapters highlight caste
The 2018 EU Human Rights Report highlights caste in many relevant country chapters. Please find the relevant passages highlighted in each chapter Bangladesh Chapter / Pakistan Chapter / Nepal Chapter / India Chapter / Sri Lanka Chapter.
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Videos
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Documentary on manual scavenging in India
The Wire speaks to rehabilitated manual scavengers as identified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and finds their condition and profession unchanged. Read more here
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