On 15 March 2006, at the end of a consultation on discrimination based on work and descent in Geneva and coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the members of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) expressed their concern about the lack of response by some States to the study undertaken by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights into such forms of discrimination. FORUM-ASIA, as an Associate of the IDSN, was also present at the consultation and along with IDSN, met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour.On 15 March 2006, at the end of a consultation on discrimination based on work and descent in Geneva and coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the members of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) expressed their concern about the lack of response by some States to the study undertaken by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights into such forms of discrimination. FORUM-ASIA, as an Associate of the IDSN, was also present at the consultation and along with IDSN, met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour.
Members of the IDSN network expressed their appreciation for the support given by the High Commissioner’s office to the work of the two Special Rapporteurs of the Sub-Commission on Human Rights. They also requested her to call on all relevant stakeholders, particularly the States that are affected by this phenomenon, to cooperate with the work of the two UN experts. Representatives of the IDSN also made a personal appeal to the High Commissioner to preserve the function of the Sub-Commission in the reformed UN human rights system, stressing the importance of the work that has been undertaken by the Special Rapporteurs to date. The Sub-Commission grants NGOs an important entry point for key issues of concern, yet its future within the context of the new Human Rights Council remains unclear.
NGOs of the IDSN network thus took the opportunity to highlight the importance of this “expert mechanism” directly to the High Commissioner and called for the study on the issue of discrimination based on work and descent to be continued.
Read the IDSN press release and the IDSN letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. IDSN has also prepared a brief paper highlighting the everyday discrimination faced by Dalits.
