IDSN recommendations for the UN rights review of Pakistan

The UN will review the human rights situation of Pakistan on 13th November 2017. Ahead of this review IDSN and the Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network (PDSN) have released a factsheet containing key recommendations, prepared on the basis of IDSN and PDSN’s  joint UPR submission submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The factsheet provides more […]

IDSN recommendations for the UN Human Rights Council September session

Read the full IDSN HRC36 recommendations here:

Dalit flood victims need food, water and medicine

Nepal, Bangladesh and India have experienced severe flooding over the past weeks and many Dalit communities are hard hit. In this article we will share some of the reports we have received from members in Nepal. We will be following up on this once more reports have come in from the rest of the region. While monsoon flooding in Nepal […]

Rights defenders: legislation meant to stop caste atrocities is failing

Dalit and Adivasi Civil Society Organisations, Human Rights Defenders from across India met in New Delhi to discuss the status of implementation of India’s legislation to prevent atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis. There was widespread dissatisfaction among participants that key elements of the legislation were not being implemented, and a call was made asking for action to be taken […]

UK caste consultation extended after pressure from human rights defenders

The UK’s Indian Diaspora community are going head to head as the Government’s consultation on caste discrimination legislation is extended. In several media reports groups that are pro and anti the introduction of legislation against caste discrimination in the UK, are arguing about the impact of such a move. IDSN member the Dalit Solidarity Network – UK (DSN-UK) has […]

Rights defenders: 27 manual scavengers die in one month – Government must act now

The call comes following the death of 27 manual scavengers in India within the span of one month, outlined in a press release by rights NGO Safai Karmchari Andolan (SKA). In response, the New Delhi Government has since imposed a blanket ban on manual cleaning of sewers, saying offenders are to be booked under culpable homicide, which if […]

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 Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns [CPSC], has been charged by the Ministry of Home Affairs with “using foreign contributions to the detriment of India’s […]

Dalit women in Nepal enter local government in record numbers

When a record number of Dalit women now take their seat in local Government across the country it is indeed a dream come true. IDSN members in Nepal have been working for decades to increase the political participation of Dalit women in Nepal, resulting in the 2017 Local Level Election Act  stipulating that at least one of the […]

SDGs in action: Dalit women in Nepal

In connection with their participation at the  High Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals in New York, IDSN member in Nepal, FEDO, has produced a valuable briefing paper on the Sustainable Development Goals and how they are directly related to the situation of Dalits, and in particular of Dalit women. The paper offers key insight into the […]

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 to the United Nations said in a statement on behalf of Member State co-hosts France, United Kingdom and Uruguay. He then welcomed representatives of […]