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IDSN fully endorses the Call to action on Labour Law changes in India, issued by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The statement calls on businesses sourcing in India to respond to the news that several Indian states will suspend key fundamental labour rights for a period of up to three years, under the cover of the Covid-19 crisis.
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A new report published by the human rights NGO Arisa has found that children under 14 years account for over 18% of the workforce in the cottonseed farms surveyed, with over 50% of the child labourers in the sector being Dalits or Adivasis. The majority of the child labourers were not attending school.
IDSN welcomes ‘Sowing Hope’ and urges companies looking to address child labour and the working conditions in the seed sector to address caste discrimination directly, as it is a key root cause of child labour, also evidenced by the large percentage of Dalits engaged in this work as documented.
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IDSN members and affiliates in Nepal are raising awareness and demanding justice in a case of caste-based murder in the country that is still under Covid-19 lockdown.
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“Nepal has laws against caste-based crimes but they are rarely applied, and often the police refuse to even register cases – such as rape – when the victim is a Dalit … The alleged role of local politicians in these cases can lead to obstruction of justice, which means that an independent investigation is essential.”
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“It is distressing that caste-based prejudices remain deeply entrenched in our world in the 21st century, and I am filled with sadness for these two young people who held high hopes of building a life together despite the obstacles presented by their accident of birth … Caste-based discrimination remains widespread, not only in Nepal but other countries, and often leads to serious harm and, as in this case, even loss of life. Ending caste-based discrimination is fundamental to the sustainable development vision of leaving no one behind.” Read the full statement from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. The United Nations Resident Coordinator, in Nepal, Valerie Julliand, also made several statements on Twitter on the killings.
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A joint statement by the EU Delegation and EU Member States represented in Kathmandu was issued on 3 June deploring the tragic loss of life in Rukum, condemning violence based on caste and other grounds and expressing the EU’s support to efforts undertaken to conduct a fair investigation leading to action to ensure justice and reparations for the victims and their families. The EU Ambassador to Nepal, Veronica Cody, also tweeted on the killings in Rukum on 30 May expressing the EU’s heartfelt condolences to the families and love ones of those killed , condemning such caste-based acts of violence and standing together with all those calling for justice for the victims.
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IDSN member the National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ-NCDHR) has issued a press release detailing a wide range of atrocities against Dalits over the past months under the Covid-19 lockdown. NDMJ highlights that the lockdown has led to a surge in caste-based violence and atrocities and that access to justice for Dalits remains deeply flawed. The organisation has collected a wide range of case reports and has made interventions in these. NDMJ has also collated media reports documenting examples of the violations.
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DSN-UK has issued an appeal to the public, governments and companies to raise concern about the plight of Dalits during Covid-19 - "We have the opportunity to reshape the world – so raise your voice and make sure that our government is reminded that equality does not exist for all."
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“This neglect always existed, even historically, because we are Dalits … No one is bothered about the unhygienic and undignified working conditions we have to bear… We should never have to touch waste with our hands. However, while earlier we had to fight for gloves, raincoats, gumboots, today, we have to fight for PPE kits.”
Amnesty India has launched an appeal for signatures to urge the government to ensure the dignity and protection of India’s sanitation workers – who are predominantly Dalits.
Photo of manual scavenging in India by Jakob Carlsen/IDSN
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IDSN strongly condemns the murder of George Floyd. Our hearts go out to his loved ones and the loved ones of all those killed because of systemic inequality, racism and discrimination every day across the globe. We stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the fight for justice and a world free of racism and discrimination.
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“This online public event is designed to take a pledge against discrimination based on caste, religion and race, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement in the US, condemning the brutal murder of the Afro American, George Floyd at the racist white American Police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25th May. We stand united with the black and other coloured people of the US who have been suffering racial discrimination for more than four centuries. We from India have special interest in the Black Lives Matter Movement, as we are ourselves up against caste discrimination, which is another form of racial discrimination.” A signature campaign and joint letter has also been organised.
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Selected Headlines:
Opinion: Unprotected, unpaid or unrecognised: Christian workers on the frontline in Pakistan’s fight against Covid-19 (Institute of Development Studies)
“Social distancing is nothing new to us (Pakistani Christians) … People usually hate the sight of a sanitation worker, let alone coming close, shaking our hand, or eating and drinking with us.
Unofficially, the caste-based ‘untouchable’ stigma remains synonymous with Christians, because over 90% of them come from what was the Dalit caste, the poorest of the poor.”
The Challenge Of Waste In India: From Environment To Caste (Feminism in India)
"The worst manifestation of caste and politics of waste is coerced manual scavenging that claims lives and continues despite legal regulations."
The Dalits In Bangladesh (Daily Star)
“Key national priorities to improve the situation of Dalits in Bangladesh should be set in a comprehensive national action plan to eliminate caste, work and descent based discrimination.”
Can India Ignore its Caste Realities While Relaxing Labour Laws? (News 18 India)
“According to the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), marginalised groups, such as Dalits, are often the ones working in the hardest and most precarious jobs where labour standards are already compromised and human rights are often violated.”
Increased Working Hours For Women Garment Workers—The Final Nail In The Coffin (Feminism in India)
“A lot of women from our factory have gone back home due to coronavirus and their salaries have not been given. These new working hours will only add to our woes."
OPINION: Don’t trivialise child labour with talk of household chores (Aidan McQuade – Thomson Reuters)
“The numbers [of child labourers] remain so stubbornly high because there has been inadequate response to effectively address the causes and consequences of these forms of child abuse.” These include caste discrimination.
How Has The Indian Government Failed Dalit Women? (Feminism in India)
Has India failed its Dalit women? By all development indices, Dalit women continue to have the least access to resources, says Asha Kowtal. Watch the video report.
Dalit Women Learn Differently: Experiences In Educational Institutions (Feminism in India)
“Women from minority caste groups are subjected to discrimination in institutions where the merits of Dalit women are questioned against both men and upper caste women.”
Video statements: Release 12 Bhima Koregaon activists immediately
On May 30th People from the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan and India made a video statement to demand the immediate release of Dr. Anand Teltumbde and 10 other human rights activists who have been arrested in fabricated cases.
Podcast with author of “Caste Matters” – Suraj Yengde (The Record – Nepal)
“Don’t liberate Dalits, they are already liberating themselves. Liberate yourself and your caste people because they are the ones who need it the most.”
Dalit deaths and the longevity of caste (The Record – Nepal)
“Nepal's anti-discrimination act fails to protect Dalit people from being lynched and buried, let alone humiliation, verbal abuse, or other kinds of discrimination in everyday life. Dalit cases since enactment of the act in 2011”
Justice for Nawaraj (My Republica – Nepal)
"The new constitution of Nepal added extra protections for Dalits. Yet, discrimination and violence against them haven’t reduced.18 Dalits have lost their lives due to caste-based violence since 2011 when the Nepal government formally prohibited the bias against the low castes."
Supposed ‘suicides’ point towards police incompetence (The Record – Nepal)
“Birendra’s 50-year-old mother, Akali Bhar, refused to let a Dalit girl enter her home and she beat Angira. Birendra then took Angira to the Rohini stream and two hours later, her body was found hanging with her shoes off her feet, her clothes torn, her hair dishevelled.”
Dalit Men Beaten, Paraded With Shoes Hung Around Their Neck in UP (The Quint)
“In a grim reminder of the 2016 Una flogging incident, three other oppressed caste men were tied up, beaten, forcefully tonsured and paraded around with shoes hung around their necks in Lucknow’s Barauli Khalilabad village.”
40 Atrocities On TN Dalits In 50 Days Of Lockdown (The Lede)
“These include murders, (dis)honour killings, caste based humiliations, police torture and rape … the judicial procedure too has been disbanded in such crimes, citing lockdown as an excuse.”
‘Give status report on caste-based atrocities’ (The Hindu)
“Pointing to the number of caste-based atrocities being reported in the State during the COVID-19 lockdown, human rights activists have demanded the government to come out with a status report on the action taken in this regard.”
Why Are Atrocities Against Dalits On The Rise? (Feminism in India)
“As India fights to curb increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections, a virus of fear is sweeping the land and the most vulnerable communities (Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis) are bearing the brunt of it. The virus is frightening and it is pushing people’s prejudices and ignorance to the forefront leading to scapegoating of marginalised populations.”
Opinon: Caste Diversity, Social Binding Has Helped Tamil Nadu Doctors Cope with COVID Challenge (The Wire)
“By undermining the reservation system in health education, the government may undo the public healthcare system”
The underlying threat of social distancing (The Record – Nepal)
“Social distancing also has a dark and ominous side. In South Asia, where it has unfurled into a spider’s web of practices, it also directs violence, exclusion and bigotry upon marginalised people whose only ‘sin’ is caste, occupation or descent.”
U.S. Black Lives Matter protests spur calls for India to wake up to Dalit discrimination (Reuters)
"In India, people need to admit their role in everyday discrimination faced by Dalits and only then can a dialogue for change be initiated. We hope what they are seeing unfolding globally will lead to soul searching."
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