The new Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs has committed himself to working for Dalit rights. In a recent debate in his country’s parliament, he called the position of Dalits “a very important and complex issue.”
PRESS RELEASE: A strongly worded resolution on caste discrimination in India was debated and adopted today by the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The Parliament condemned the high number of atrocities committed against Dalits in India and the Indian government’s insufficient action on the issue of caste discrimination.
The European Parliament (EP) includes text on caste discrimination in the resolution adopted on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2011 and the European Union’s policy on the matter.
At a regional consultation in Dhaka, human rights campaigners discussed steps towards enactment of special legislation to ensure equal rights for Dalits and other excluded communities in Bangladesh.
The theme of this year’s United Nations Human Rights day - inclusion and the right to participate in public life - is particularly relevant to the issue of caste discrimination. Much more needs to be done to ensure that the rights of Dalits and similarly marginalised groups are fully respected.
A national march – the Maila Mukti Yatra - will cross India with a call for the total eradication of ‘the slavery of manual scavenging’. It happens at a time when prominent campaigners have expressed scepticism towards new legislation against this banned, but continuing, practice.
Thousands of Dalits and Adivasis gathered in Delhi on Friday to demand amendments to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The government may bring in these amendments early next year.
Approximately 1,000 non-Dalits launched a coordinated attack on three Dalit settlements in Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, on 7 November. Hundreds of houses were burnt and looted – ostensibly because of an inter-caste marriage.
When Pakistan was reviewed by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism on 30 October, many states expressed concern about the human rights situation of religious minorities, including scheduled castes.
A coalition of 150 Indian NGOs is demanding amendments to - and proper implementation of - the laws that are supposed to protect Dalits and Adivasis from atrocities. The campaign is gathering momentum.
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery