(Bangkok, 21 November 2012): We, the undersigned organizations of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) who were in Bangkok, Thailand, for our 7th General Assembly on 20-21 November 2012, convey our warmest greetings of solidarity to 63,000 Dalit-Adivasis who are gathering at the National Dalit-Adivasi Sammelan in Delhi, India on today, 23 November 2012.
We wish to call on the entire nation of India to:
- Stop untouchability at any time and at any place;
- End atrocities and manual scavenging; and
- Annihilate caste and patriarchy.
We strongly support your demand to:
- Uphold Article 17 of the India Constitution through which untouchability is declared to have been abolished;
- Implement Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which ensures security of life to the Dalits and Adivasis;
- Enforce the protection of the Civil Rights Act which ensures protection of Dalits against caste-based discrimination;
- Enforce Article 14, 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution which guarantee Dalits and Adivasis the right to equality status, opportunities and access on par with all citizen of India; and
- Protect and safeguard the rights of women and children who are made vulnerable by casteist forces and patriarchal perpetrators of violence.
We also express our utmost concern over the poor implementation of scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and support your demand to amend this act urgently in order to make it comprehensive and stronger for effective implementation.
- Law & Society Trust (LST), Sri Lanka
- National Commission for Justice & Peace (NCJP), Pakistan
- Community Self –Reliance Centre (CSRC), Nepal
- People’s Watch, India
- Friends’ Association for Rural Reconstruction (FARR), India
- Centre For Social Action, Research, Training & Documentation (ADHIKAR), India
- Odhikar, Bangladesh
- Resource Integration Centre (RIC), Bangladesh
- Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh
- Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), Pakistan
- Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), India
- Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India
- Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), Nepal
- Dalit Foundation (DF), India
- South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM), India
- People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), Korea
- Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS), Korea
- Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), Mongolia
- People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF), Thailand
- Tanggol-Kalikasan – Public Interest Environmental Law Office, The Philippines
- Education and Research Association for Consumer (ERA Consumer), Malaysia
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Cambodia
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia
- Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PHARA), The Philippines
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), The Philippines
- Think Centre, Singapore
- The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Indonesia
- Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia (PBHI), Indonesia
- Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Indonesia
- The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (IMPARSIAL), Indonesia
- Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA), Bangladesh
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia
For further inquiries, please contact:
- Mr. Sayeed Ahmad, FORUM-ASIA, Country Program Manager, +66842176150, “[email protected]
- Mr. Ahmed Abid, South Asia Program Officer, ++66846719735, [email protected]
