Global celebrations as ‘Babasaheb’ turns 125

He is revered by India’s Dalit community as the man who campaigned against caste discrimination and inspired todays’ Dalit movement. Others primarily respect Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar as an important architect of the Constitution of independent India. In the last few days, the 125th birthday of ‘Babasaheb’ has been celebrated across the globe. Yesterday, the permanent mission of India to the […]

|Categories: India, Manual Scavenging|Tags: |

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Rohith suicide case continues to stir India

On 22 March, student demonstrators at Hyderabad Central University were violently attacked by police who forcefully detained 29 protesters, brutally beat them and held them in undisclosed locations for more than 24 hours. During the clashes, female students were kicked and threatened with rape. These were among the findings of an independent team of human rights defenders – including leading […]

|Categories: Access to justice, Education, Human Rights Defenders, India, Uncategorized, United Nations, Violence and atrocities|Tags: |

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Bhim Yatra gives hope to manual scavengers

Their message is clear: ‘Stop killing us’ – in dry latrines, sewers and septic tanks. A group of activist representing the manual scavenging community have carried this message across India since December, and on their way they have given hope to people involved in this inhuman and illegal practice and informed them of their rights. The activists – from the […]

|Categories: India, Manual Scavenging|Tags: |

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IDSN members lobby global community

On 14 March 2016, IDSN members from all over the world gathered in Geneva for the network’s triennial General Assembly. Participants were Dalit human rights defenders from South Asia, Dalit Solidarity Networks from Europe, International Associates and staff from the IDSN Secretariat. The General Assembly is IDSN’s highest body. It elects the network’s board and is also an important forum […]

|Categories: Bangladesh, Caste-based slavery, European Union, Human Rights Defenders, Humanitarian Aid, India, Nepal, South Asia, UK, United Nations, Violence and atrocities, Yemen|Tags: |

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HRW: EU should encourage India to protect Dalits

The European Union should encourage the Indian government to: take immediate steps to eliminate abuses against Dalits; provide concrete plans to implement laws to secure their protection; and uphold its commitment to end manual scavenging. These are the most important caste-related messages in an open letter regarding the EU-India Summit from Human Rights Watch (HRW) to EU leaders Donald […]

|Categories: Dalit Children, Dalit Women, Education, European Union, India, Manual Scavenging, Violence and atrocities|Tags: |

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UN Deputy High Commissioner gravely concerned about caste discrimination

The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, has reiterated her office’s strong commitment to addressing caste discrimination as an important priority in its work. In a meeting in Geneva on 16 March with Dalit human rights campaigners from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal as well as other members of the International Dalit Solidarity Network, Ms Gilmore described […]

|Categories: Bangladesh, Human Rights Defenders, India, Nepal, Pakistan, United Nations|Tags: |

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UN expert calls on states to end caste discrimination

GENEVA, 17 MARCH 2016 — Caste-affected countries should take urgent and comprehensive action to combat caste discrimination, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsàk-Ndiaye, says in a new report on the issue published this week. The report was presented and discussed in the Human Rights Council on 15th March. “The issue of caste discrimination has touched me since the beginning […]

|Categories: Access to justice, Africa, Dalit Women, Human Rights Defenders, India, South Asia, United Nations, Violence and atrocities, Yemen|Tags: |

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HRW/IDSN: Ending discrimination based on caste and descent

The UN Human Rights Council, its member states and UN bodies should work much harder to eliminate one of the world’s worst forms of discrimination. This is the overall message from Human Rights Watch and IDSN in their joint statement titled Ending discrimination based on caste and descent. The statement includes a number of important recommendations. HRW and IDSN […]

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Indian budget fails to deliver for Dalits

Approximately one fourth of India’s population consists of Dalits and Adivasis, and they are supposed to receive budget allocations according to their numbers. But yet again, these groups have been let down by the country’s government in the 2016 budget. Allocations for Scheduled Castes (Dalits) under the new budget is only 7.6 per cent when the due amount should actually […]

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UN expert urges states to combat caste discrimination

Caste-affected countries must take urgent and comprehensive action to combat caste discrimination, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues says in a new, strongly worded report on one of the world’s most serious human rights issues that affects more than 250 million people. In her report on ‘Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status’, Ms […]

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