Stop Caste Discrimination - Support the Dalits!

UN Vulnerable workers in supply chains need urgent protection to survive impact of Covid-19
IDSN, Apr 3, 2020
IDSN strongly urges governments and companies with supply chains to take measures to urgently protect migrant and informal workers, including Dalits, as Covid-19 measures threaten their lives and livelihoods. »

UN women’s committee raises concern over intersecting caste, religious and gender discrimination in Pakistan
IDSN, Mar 23, 2020
Dalit women in Pakistan are at high risk of human rights abuses due to intersecting caste, religious and gender discrimination. »

Report outlines recommendations for action on caste and gender justice in Nepal
IDSN, Mar 20, 2020
A comprehensive report on the status of Dalit women in Nepal has been released by IDSN member the Feminist Dalit Organization Nepal (FEDO) with support from IDSN and Womankind. The report details the situation, challenges and recommendations within poverty, education, health, safety, political participation, »

Consultation: Action on caste discrimination is crucial for meeting the Global Goals
IDSN, Mar 3, 2020
The National Consultation “Localizing SDGs through Dalit perspectives” drew together over eighty delegates from 15 states in India, to discuss ways forward to address caste and gender discrimination vis a vis the UN Global Goals. »

Indian budget fails to deliver on allocations for the welfare of Dalits
IDSN, Mar 2, 2020
Dalit and Adivasi in India are being let down by the Government in the 2020-21 Union budget. NCDHR has released an analysis of the budget showing unacceptable gaps in allocations and highlighting the discrepancies between Government rhetoric when it comes to social inclusion and the figures in the actual budget. »

IDSN highlights rights violations against Dalits for the UN women’s committee review of Pakistan
IDSN, Feb 14, 2020
IDSN submitted a report detailing the challenges faced by Dalit women and girls in Pakistan, for the review of the government’s report on compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW review). »

Press Release: European Parliament calls for an EU policy to address caste discrimination
IDSN, Jan 16, 2020
The International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) welcomes the adoption of the European Parliament’s annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2018 and the European Union’s policy on the matter. »

IDSN highlights caste-related labour issues at the Business and human rights forum 2019
IDSN, Dec 13, 2019
IDSN set its mark on the UN Business and Human Rights Forum with a very popular stand, highlighting the links between caste and human rights violations in global supply chains and the IDSN Director gave a snapshot presentation on what Governments can do to start addressing these issues with businesses. »

Caste guidance launched at seminar on vulnerable workers in business supply chains
IDSN, Dec 2, 2019
Human rights issues related to caste in global supply chains was a key theme at the seminar on vulnerable workers, held in Copenhagen on 12 November, organised by IDSN, the Danish Ethical Trading Initiative (DIEH) and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in the UK. »

IDSN participates at UN Global Consultation on Business and Human Rights
IDSN, Nov 10, 2019
Henri Tiphange represented IDSN in the Global Consultation on National Human Rights Institutions and access to remedy. This consultation is part of an ongoing project about accountability for human rights. »

Dalit women producing leather footwear for global brands suffer serious labour rights abuses
IDSN, Oct 11, 2019
A new report by Homeworkers Worldwide finds Dalit women working in global leather supply chains being subjected to discrimination, insecure work, low wages and labour rights abuses, including sexual harassment. »

No more silence: Companies must address caste in their global supply chains
IDSN, Sep 26, 2019
Remaining silent about caste discrimination in global supply chains is fueling modern slavery, child labour and the exploitation of workers in South Asia, according to new ETI Base Code guidance for companies published today. »

Rights Activists: No global goals without tackling caste
IDSN, Jun 14, 2019
From the streets of South Asia, activists fighting for justice, human rights and freedom from caste apartheid are now bringing the campaign #NoCasteLeftBehind to Europe. »

IDSN submits input to the UN Human Rights Commitee ahead of India review
IDSN, May 29, 2019
IDSN and The National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ)-NCDHR have submitted input to the UN ahead of the adoption of the list of issues for the 126th session for the state party – INDIA. »

Caste and gender underpin employment inequality in India
IDSN, May 24, 2019
Inequality in employment along caste and gender lines is a massive obstacle to alleviating poverty and inequality in India, finds the Oxfam India report Mind The Gap – State of Employment in India. »

On May Day, India’s Temple Builders Demand Workplace Safety Against Silicosis
The Wire, May 3, 2019
400 workers occupied the streets of Pindwara’s RIICO to demand freedom from the fatal Silicosis disease caused by silica-rich stones used for constructing temples. »

New EU human rights guidelines highlight the need to address caste in EU’s external action
IDSN, Apr 12, 2019
IDSN welcomes the new EU Human Rights Guidelines on Non-discrimination in External Action, where caste is mentioned several times as a form of discrimination that must be addressed. »

MEP’s ask EU to act to end the unjust blocking of IDSN’s UN accreditation
IDSN, Apr 9, 2019
Several high-profile members of the EP have sent a letter to the EU High-Representative for Foreign Affairs, Frederica Mogherini, asking the EU to take action to support IDSN’s 10-year quest for UN accreditation, at the upcoming May meeting of the UN NGO Committee. »

Study finds Dalits working in forced and child labour in India’s garment industry
IDSN, Mar 29, 2019
An extensive study on home-based garment workers in India found 99 per cent of workers toiled in conditions of forced labor under Indian law, with over 99 per cent of the workers found to be either Dalits or Muslims. »

Caste discrimination is blocking progress on the SDGs says UK NGO development network BOND
IDSN, Mar 22, 2019
A new report Caste and Development: Tackling Discrimination Based on Work and Descent released by the UK NGO BOND highlights the urgent need to address caste discrimination in order to progress on the UN SDGs. »

UN rights chief warns against “increasing harassment and targeting of” Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis in India
IDSN, Mar 12, 2019
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michele Bachelet, raises concern over increasing marginalisation and discrimination in India, in her speech to the UN Human Rights Council. »

Manual scavenging, social exclusion of past even today play crucial role India’s sanitation outcome
Counterview.org, Feb 21, 2019
Why have government latrines been rejected by villagers for at least the last seventy years? The social scientists at the 1956 Ministry of Health conference discussed many possible reasons. »

Murders of Religious Minorities in India Go Unpunished, Report Finds
The New York Times, Feb 18, 2019
The Indian authorities have delayed investigating a wave of vigilante-style murders of religious minorities, with many instead working to justify the attacks or file charges against some of the victims’ families, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch. »

Ambassadors join the fight to end caste discrimination
press release IDSN, Feb 5, 2019
A brand new IDSN Ambassadors Group is launched today. The group is made up of several highly distinguished human rights advocates, who will use their knowledge and skills to ensure that caste discrimination never falls off the global human rights agenda. »

Report finds entrenched caste discrimination in India’s criminal justice system
IDSN, Jan 18, 2019
Criminal Justice in the Shadow of Caste is a pioneering report looking at the administration of criminal justice in India through a caste lens. The findings reveal discrimination at all levels, including within prisons. »

‘Statelessness’ of Dalit communities raised at UN Forum on Minority Issues
IDSN, Dec 18, 2018
IDSN participated in the 11th Session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues, under the theme “Statelessness: A Minority Issue”. IDSN members from Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan outlined how Dalits often suffer statelessness due to extreme marginalization and lack of access to rights. »

New IDSN strategy presented at the General Assembly 2018
IDSN, Dec 17, 2018
IDSN members and associates from across the globe met in Geneva in November for the IDSN General Assembly. The assembly spread over two days brimming with energy, new ideas, and determination to strengthen the fight for human rights, justice and equality for all, irrespective of caste. »

European Parliament calls on the EU to step up action at the UN and delegation levels to eliminate caste-based discrimination
press release IDSN, Dec 12, 2018
IDSN welcomes today’s adoption of the European Parliament’s annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter. »

20 years of Dalit Human Rights
Asia Dalit Rights Forum, Dec 2018
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) is celebrating their 20 years of championing Dalit rights in India. Prior to 1998, Dalit rights was considered as social evil and discriminatory practices, while not given due recognition from the human rights perspective. »

We have a dream
IDSN, Dec 10, 2018
Today, as we celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the struggle to open the doors of the minds of people across the world to accept that all humans are of equal value and deserve equal rights remains one of the key challenges facing our societies. »

UN Special Rapporteur asks Nepal to act on violence against Dalit women
IDSN, Dec 3, 2018
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Dubravka Šimonovic made a preliminary assessment on violence against women in Nepal, after her official visit to the country, which took place from the 19 to the 29 November. »

‘Tell Everyone We Scalped You!’ How Caste Still Rules in India
The New York Times, Nov 17, 2018
Dalits are not just considered lower caste, but technically outcaste. Bound at the bottom of India’s Hindu society for centuries, the Dalit population, now estimated at more than 300 million, has been abused for as long as anyone can remember. And now, according to crime statistics, the violence against them is rising. »

UN women’s committee makes recommendations to Nepal to address discrimination against Dalit women
IDSN, Nov 14, 2018
The CEDAW Committee has released its Concluding Observations, after the periodic review of Nepal. The Committee took note of a number of concerns regarding Dalit women and made relevant recommendations. »

UN CEDAW committee voices concern over difficulties faced by Dalit women in Nepal
IDSN, Nov 5, 2018
UN experts on gender discrimination voiced concerns over the difficulties elected Dalit women face in Nepal, the need for proportional inclusion of Dalit women in the Judiciary, and extreme poverty faced by many Dalit women. »

Republic Of Fear: ‘India is hostile to its weakest and poor, there is no justice for them’
The Polis Project, Oct 15, 2018
India has always been a profoundly violent country. The routinized violence experienced by the country's marginalized - Dalits, Muslims, Adivasi, poor, women - is not only denied but also hidden behind a language of neutrality. »

Activists’ arrest: It's a more serious situation in country than Emergency, says Arundhati Roy
The Hindu, Aug 28, 2018
Following the arrests of civil rights activists and lawyers on Tuesday, writer Arundhati Roy said the situation in the country could become “more serious” than it was at the time of the Emergency in the mid-1970s. »