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Conference on Dalit rights & the UN The purpose of the conference, held on 24-25 June in Geneva, was to review past interventions, mainly at the UN, and to chalk out effective future strategies for 2011-2020. Participants came from all over the world and guests from OHCHR also attended the conference.
India’s Prime Minister pledges to eliminate manual scavenging from every corner of India in 6 months The pledge came in a speech on the 17 June and the PM furthermore stressed, “Although successive governments have made progressive laws ... the real question is how to implement and enforce these laws effectively.”
Dutch Parliament adopts motion to prioritise combating caste discrimination The motion to keep combating caste discrimination firmly on the Government agenda was adopted with a large majority.
UN Rapporteur: Better protection needed for victims of caste systems “Despite Government efforts to eradicate this type of discrimination through constitutional guarantees, legislation and affirmative action programmes, caste -based discrimination remains deplorably widespread and deeply rooted,” the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Mr. Githu Muigai, states in his new report. He recommends that legal measures be taken hand-in-hand with awareness-raising of the judiciary, the police and civil service.
Police threaten violence against Dalit villagers protesting against the take-over of their land by steel giant POSCO “The human rights of Dalits have been blatantly violated in the POSCO project villages. An embargo type of situation has been created in these villages through police terror to suppress the peaceful resistance of the people,” says Paul Divakar, General Secretary of NCDHR.
NHRC find that Tamil Nadu police committed grave human rights violations against Dalit activistsThe National Human Rights Commission in India has directed the Tamil Nadu government to compensate five Dalit human rights defender trainees at People's Watch, who were unlawfully arrested in August 2010. The verdict came in a letter to IDSN who alongside a wide array of other networks and organisations had written to the NHRC about this case.The NHRC have also recently taken action on a case of abuse of a Dalit boy.
Study: Caste discrimination in access to health services puts Dalit children at risk The study, published by UNICEF and IIDS, finds that the consequences of discriminatory practices severely limit Dalit children from accessing health services, and are attributable to the poor health and high level of mortality of Dalit children. The study calls for developing safeguards and codes to check discriminatory practices at all stages of service delivery.
300 arrested for preventing Dalits from using the village bus All those arrested are members of a higher caste community and were trying to stop a bus from entering a village housing about 500 Dalit families. It is not uncommon that Dalits are prevented from using the bus services, made to sit at the back of the bus or made to stand up for upper caste villagers. Police action like this is, however, rare.
‘End of Free Speech’ – Online Control in India The Dalit Network Netherlands Coordinator, Gerard Oonk, explains the possible repercussions, for the work of human rights defenders and the right to freedom of speech, of India’s new ''Information Technology Rules, 2011''. Recent developments include a Dalit poet being accused of provoking class warfare and The Indian government increasingly requesting Google to block content criticising politicians or officials.
India among top 5 worst places in the world for women A survey just released by Thompson Reuters/ Trustlaw ranks India as one of the top 5 worst places in the world to be a woman. Dalit women are discriminated double making the situation even more desperate for them. The Guardian highlighted the case of Kusum, a Dalit woman in India, in their coverage of the survey.
Dalits employed in exploitative child Labour in India’s Hand-Woven Carpet Sector The account finds that children as young as 10 years of age are coerced to work 16 or more hours a day weaving carpets for export to Europe and North America. All of these children are poor, low-caste or Dalits who are either paid a pittance for their efforts, or are exploited through outright bonded and forced labour.
ILO Global Report 2011 specifically addresses caste discrimination Read the relevant excerpts here >>
New report on the status of religious minorities in Pakistan highlights caste discrimination
New Documentaries: Sex, Death & The Gods (Devadasis in India); Born Polluted (Caste Discrimination in Nepal) and Segregation and Survival (Caste Discrimination in the UK)
More news includes: India >> Dalits unable to access disaster relief; Health centre discrimination; temple discrimination; brick kiln bonded labour; Dalit women activists; new fellowships and news from NCDHR // Nepal >> Police & Government establish centres and takes initiatives to fight untouchability; Dalit NGOs launch census drive; discrimination in education and employment; bonded labour continues and Badi Dalits trapped in prostitution // Pakistan >> Dalits in Pakistan – minority within a minority and Lahore sweepers threatened & treated as ‘untouchables’ // International >> UN MDG report highlights the need to support marginalised groups to reach 2015 targets; The impact of the report 'Captured By Cotton' & UK and Sri Lanka news
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