The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recommends the Government of Yemen to adopt a national action plan to combat the social discrimination and marginalization faced by the Al-Akhdam people, considered 'untouchable' in Yemen.
The National Conference of Dalit Women organised by the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) took place in Kathmandu from the 11-13th May. The conference brought together Dalit women activists from 75 districts of Nepal; Human Rights activists, constitutional assembly members, researchers, representatives from UN and bilateral agencies and I/NGOs, members of the media; and international delegates from, India, Bangladesh, UK, Sweden, Hongkong, and Denmark.
Press Release - Copenhagen, May 30, 2011 (IDSN) --- The Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability Crime Elimination and Punishment Act, which was adopted unanimously by Nepal’s interim Parliament on May 24, prohibits the practices of ‘untouchability’ both in the public and private sphere. Dalit groups have advocated for two years to ensure that the law did not only extend to the public sphere, but also to the private. It is the first time that a law, which criminalises ‘untouchability’ practices in the private sphere, has ever been introduced.
Urgent appeal from the Asian Human Rights Commission:
Multinational clothing brands are sourcing from cotton spinning mills in Tamil Nadu that exploit teenage girls, subjecting them to what the ILO terms the ‘worst forms of child labour’.
India is failing to address its farmer suicide crisis, says the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ), in a report released yesterday that has indentified an agrarian crisis in India where farmer suicides are on the rise and caste discrimination only exacerbates the problem.
Even a Dalit millionaire in India can’t buy a house for his mother in the ‘upper caste’ part of her village, or see his son marry an ‘upper caste’ girl. Despite the economic success of a small fraction of India’s Dalits, discrimination prevails and a top economist argues that in fact discrimination and repression are what underpin India’s economic growth, forcing the majority of Dalits into low paid and insecure labour situations.
In his inaugural address at Civil Services Day on April 21st in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned civil servants that there was no room for relaxation of vigil when it came to dealing with violence in India. He pointed out the violence committed against Dalits was a priority and stressed that the Government would work for the development of far-flung areas in order to strengthen internal security.
India’s Supreme Court is pushing local law enforcement and state Governments to stop caste discrimination by clamping down on discriminatory practices. Recent verdicts include a ban on using different cups for Dalits in tea shops in Tamil Nadu, cracking down on caste-based violence across the country and outlawing the use of derogatory caste names.
IDSN have launched a YouTube Channel on www.youtube.com/IDSNVideo
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