Skip to main content

Participants at UN experts meet in Geneva insist on need for lasting mechanism to monitor caste discrimination

By A Representative
A high-level interaction in Geneva, United Nations (UN) experts and civil rights activists stressed on the need to move towards a “more structured mechanism against caste-based discrimination” in countries like India and its South Asian neighbours. During the interaction, in which UN special rapporteurs, civil society groups and independent experts participated, there was sharp focus on the need to usher in a formal UN mechanism to end caste-based discrimination in a year’s  time. This mechanism, it was suggested, could monitor caste discrimination and suggest ways to overcome it. Before the mechanism is worked out, experts could move around different countries to see how effectively are laws to end caste-based discrimination being implemented.
Held between September 29 and October 3, the participants at the interaction said all countries must endorse the draft UN Principles and Guidelines for the Effective Elimination of Discrimination based on Work and Descent. Participants discussed caste-based discrimination as a cross-cutting issue and stressed on the need to outline areas of joint intervention. They said, one should ensure that affected countries effectively monitor and investigate caste-based discrimination, and states start acting on it with the help of “non-state actors”.
Ahead of the meeting, the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), one of the important participants, wanted particular focus on three major issues:
  • regular joint review process on status of caste discrimination; 
  • develop a road map for action to improve implementation of recommendations; and
  • engage OHCHR/UN consultations on caste-based discrimination 
Following the meeting, the IDSN said there were “proposals for significant initiatives” at the meeting while exchanging views, including on “a more structured mechanism against caste-based discrimination for the next annual meeting in 2015, placing caste-based discrimination and slavery on the agenda of next year's annual meeting or having a consultation on caste-based discrimination, and working on caste-based discrimination across mandates as a concerted effort.”
Taking part in the meeting, the UN special rapporteur on minority issues Rita Izsak said, “We have been discussing how to jointly move towards a more structured mechanism against caste-based discrimination for the next annual meeting (2015) and to see how we can move together in more concerted and coordinated effort for these 260 million people … we will work for this and assure that we are committed.”
UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Urmila Bhoola said she was “indebted” to IDSN for “raising the issue of caste-based discrimination in the form of caste-based slavery and manual labour and manual scavenging and the persistence of forced and bonded labour particularly among Dalit people.” She expressed her interest in “conducting missions and writing a report on caste-based discrimination.”
Frances Raday, Chair of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Discrimination against Women focused on what she called “horrors of sexual violence on basis of caste-based discrimination.”
An earlier meeting under UN auspices on the issue on May 17, 2013 said the IDSN statement, reached the conclusion that “caste-based discrimination remains widespread and deeply rooted, its victims face structural discrimination, marginalization and systematic exclusion, and the level of impunity is very high”, asking world governments to “strengthen protection of hundreds of millions of people who suffer from caste discrimination, and to endorse the draft UN Principles and Guidelines for the Effective Elimination of Discrimination based on Work and Descent.”
Apart from the IDSN, those who participated in the meeting were activists representing the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), India; the Dalit NGO Federation (DNF) Nepal; Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement; Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network, and dalit solidarity networks of UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Finland.
Several senior activists from India and other South Asian countries, including Manjula Pradeep, executive director, Navsarjan Trust of Gujarat, participated.
International groups which took part included Human Rights Watch, Lutheran World Federation, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism. Anti-Slavery International, Minority Rights Group International, Asian Human Rights Commission, Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, World Council of Churches, Asian Centre for Human Rights, and International Centre for Ethnic Studies, based in Sri Lanka.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup*  I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.
Post a Comment
»

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan   Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.
Post a Comment
»

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan   In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.
Post a Comment
»

Dr. Ram Bux Singh: Biogas pioneer’s legacy gains urgency amid energy crisis

By A Representative   In an era defined by a global energy crisis and a desperate search for sustainable solutions, the visionary work of an Indian scientist from the mid-20th century is finding renewed, urgent relevance. Dr. Ram Bux Singh , a pioneering figure in biogas and renewable energy , is being posthumously honored by the Government of India, even as his decades-old innovations provide a blueprint for today’s challenges.
1 comment
»

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan  A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.
1 comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Protesters in UK cities voice concerns over alleged developments in Bastar region

By A Representative   Demonstrations were held across several cities in the United Kingdom on March 28, as groups and activists gathered to protest what they described as state actions in India under the reported “Operation Kagar.”
Post a Comment
»

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.
Post a Comment
»