https://idsn.org/idsn-delegation-highlights-caste-related-violations-in-...
An IDSN delegation actively participated in the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights from 25-27 November, drawing attention to caste-based human rights violations in global supply chains, affecting Dalit workers in South Asia. Delegates HariHaran Karrupusamy, from India’s Rights Education and Development Centre (READ) and Sundar Sheni, from Nepal’s Dalit Welfare Organisation (DWO), represented IDSN throughout the three-day forum.
The delegation engaged extensively in various sessions, raising the issue of caste discrimination through active participation in sessions, side-events, meetings and informal discussions. Sundar Sheni, for instance, highlighted the challenges of caste in Nepal’s post-conflict context during a session on business and conflict, ensuring that caste was part of the conversation. HariHaran Karrupusamy raised intersectional caste discrimination in a session on global food supply chains and in other relevant sessions and contexts.
IDSN’s Executive Director, Meena Varma, addressed the official snapshot event on “Groups at Risk,” organised by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), IDSN and the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) on 26 November at the Palais des Nations. Speaking alongside Alima Taal GFoD, Ms Varma underscored the urgent need to tackle caste-based human rights violations in global supply chains.
ABOUT
The International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) was founded in March 2000 to advocate for Dalit human rights and to raise awareness of Dalit issues nationally and internationally. IDSN is a network of international human rights groups, development agencies, national Dalit solidarity networks from Europe, and national platforms in caste-affected countries.
The audience was given a grounding in what discrimination based on work and descent, including caste discrimination, means and how this is directly related to human rights violations in global supply chains. Tips for how to identify, address and remedy these violations were shared as were ideas on how to prevent discrimination, including ensuring diversity in hiring and promotion practices.
IDSN’s participation at the forum underscored the critical need to address caste discrimination as a fundamental business and human rights issue, fostering dialogue and encouraging actionable solutions on a global stage.
