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Amnesty International: Dalit human rights defenders face serious risk

A new report released by Amnesty International paints a grim picture of the situation for human rights defenders across the globe who face death, persecution and harassment for carrying out human rights work.  The […]
December 20th, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, South Asia|
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Joint statement – Pakistan must act immediately to protect Dalits against forced disappearances, slavery and discrimination

Joint statement by the International Dalit Solidarity Network, Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network, International Movement Against All Forms of Racism and Discrimination (IMADR), Minority Rights Group International, Anti-Slavery International and FORUM-ASIA. 13 November 2017 As the UN […]
November 13th, 2017|Access to justice, Caste-based slavery, Dalit Women, Human Rights Defenders, Pakistan, United Nations|
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Urgent Appeal for Action – Dalit Professor in need of immediate protection

Human Rights Defenders Alert – India (HRDA) has issued an urgent appeal for the protection of Professor Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd – a political analyst, human rights activist and one of India’s most prominent Dalit […]
November 8th, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, Political Participation, Violence and atrocities|
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Urgent Appeal for Action – Death threats and withdrawal of police protection for a Dalit human rights activist

The appeal directed to the National Human Rights Commission of India states that false cases have been filed against Mr. Kalsan and that he is receiving death threats on account of his work defending […]
November 2nd, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, Violence and atrocities|
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Indian Government responds to UN rights review – accepts key recommendations on caste but not on ensuring space for civil society

Fifteen states made interventions with explicit recognition of the challenges faced by Dalits, at the United Nations human rights review (UPR) of India, which took place in May. Responding to the review in September […]
October 9th, 2017|Human Rights Defenders, India, United Nations|
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India cuts off funding to IDSN member for reporting to UN Experts

IDSN member People’s Watch is fighting a legal battle in the Indian courts to regain their foreign funding license, first revoked by the Indian Government in 2012. The organisation, a program unit  of the […]
August 15th, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India, United Nations|
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UN Side-event: Blocking of civil society access to the UN must end now

“It is vital that the Committee takes timely decisions on deferred applications and ensure that it carries out its work in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.” Mr. François Delattre, Permanente Representative of France […]
June 22nd, 2017|Human Rights Defenders, Political Participation, United Nations|
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New human rights portal in Nepal to help bring justice to Dalits

The organisations behind the portal describe it in a press release on the portal website stating: The Dalit Human Rights Portal (DHR-PORTAL) is a brand new media tool in Nepal to advance work on eliminating caste-based discrimination […]
April 29th, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, Nepal|
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EU states its commitment to civil society and human rights defenders

The statement issued on the 27 February includes the following passages: “There has been a backlash against civil society over the past years as governments, in a significant number of countries, seek to suppress opposition or criticism, with a clear […]
March 1st, 2017|European Union, Human Rights Defenders|
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India blocks funding for IDSN member Navsarjan Trust

The Government order to cancel the license accuses Navsarjan Trust of being involved in “undesirable activities aimed to affect prejudicially harmony between religious, racial, social, linguistic, regional groups, castes or communities,” but it does […]
January 6th, 2017|Access to justice, Human Rights Defenders, India|
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