Sources, Causes, Forms and Contemporary Manifestations of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

Inhuman treatment of a vast Asian population has been justified on the basis of caste or descent.

Let there be no doubt before this and any other preparatory body for the WCAR, caste-based discrimination falls within the purview of this conference as discrimination on the basis of occupation and descent. Caste is descent-based and hereditary in nature. It is an immutable characteristic determined by one's birth into a particular caste, irrespective of the faith that they practice.

Its place in this conference has been confirmed by numerous treaty bodies and by the title of the conference itself. It is not a dilution but an affirmation of the voices of 240 million victims who continue to suffer under hidden apartheid, segregation, modern day slavery, extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation, and violence.

Its place in international consciousness is long overdue. As we sit here today, millions upon millions of people in the Asian region are being told that they are second class citizens unworthy of the attention of this body. Here at this conference, the issue of caste has been undermined, sidelined, silenced and ignored.

Though national legislation and constitutional provisions suggest that various governments have successfully tackled caste-related violations, much of the legislation remain completely unenforced. Laws are openly flouted and state complicity in attacks on Dalit communities a well-documented pattern.

Constitutional and statutory bodies in many Asian countries have repeatedly confirmed the existence of abuses outlined in this statement. For Dalits throughout South Asia, caste remains a determinative factor for the attainment of social, political, civil, and economic rights.

Victims of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

Discrimination based on occupation and descent, such as that practiced against the Dalits, the Burakumin, and in some parts of west Africa, consists of a complex series of violations of human rights against a significant proportion of humanity. We call for explicit and systematic attention by the World Conference to this "hidden apartheid."

"Untouchability" ―the imposition of social disabilities on persons by reason of birth into a particular caste― remains very much a part of life for Dalits in South Asia. In many parts of South Asia for example, Dalits may not cross the line dividing their part of the village from that occupied by higher castes. They may not use the same wells, visit the same temples and churches, drink from the same cups in tea stalls, or lay claim to land that is legally theirs. Dalit children are frequently made to sit in the back of classrooms, and communities as a whole are made to perform degrading rituals in the name of caste. Dalit women are frequent victims of sexual abuse. They are the most marginalized, being poor, belonging to an outcaste, and being women, they are thrice alienated.

In many countries Dalits constitute, the literacy rate is appallingly low. The Dalit share of arable land is paltry compared to their representation in the population. A majority of Dalits live below the poverty line and are malnourished. .

The Burakumin face similar discrimination based on descent. Buraku are segregated residentially, are assigned fixed occupations, and forbidden from marrying outside their community. They face persistent discrimination in the fields of employment and acquisition of land, with little chance at social and economic mobility, and little legislation to improve their lot.

Measures of Prevention, education, and protection aimed at the eradication of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, at national, regional and international levels and Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, compensatory and other measures at the national, regional and international level.

- Where legislation to combat caste- and descent-based discrimination does exist, governments should:

1. Establish a time-bound program to enforce the abolition of untouchability or similar practices, particularly in the public sphere.

2. Enforce laws related to child labor, bonded labor, land reform, manual scavenging, and Devadasi or similar practices.

3. Monitor and publicize the extent to which existing laws have been implemented.

4. Extend the system of reservations, where applicable, to the higher government posts, scientific posts, and the judiciary. Reservations should also be mandated in the private sector, including multinational corporations.

5. Adequate funds should be allocated for programs for the socio-economic upliftment of communities discriminated on the basis of caste or descent.

6. Greater participation by the affected communities should be ensured in government enforcement machinery, such as the police.

- In countries where such legislation or administrative agencies do not exist the recommendation was made to enact legislation to combat discrimination and prosecute perpetrators of abuse. Additionally, commissions or government agencies should be appointed and empowered to monitor and devise measures for the socio-economic, and political upliftment of Buraku, Dalits and other groups discriminated against on the basis of caste or descent.

Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international cooperation and enhancement of the UN and other international mechanisms in combating racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

The issue of caste and descent-based discrimination has already been addressed on numerous occasions by international human rights bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In the concluding observations of its forty-ninth session held in August/September 1996 the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination affirmed that "the situation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes falls within the scope of" the Convention.

The Committee has clearly stated that the term "descent" contained in Article 1 of the Convention does not refer solely to race, and encompasses the situation of scheduled castes and tribes. Similar conclusions were drawn by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in his January 1999 report. In 1997, the Human Rights Committee noted that members of scheduled castes endured "severe social discrimination," and suffered "disproportionately from many violations of their rights under the [ICCPR]." In January and February 2000, serious concerns over the treatment of Dalit children and Dalit women were also expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

In August 2000, the U.N. Sub-Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution on Occupation and Descent Based Discrimination calling for a preliminary study of the incidence of this type of discrimination throughout the world and of necessary measures for its elimination.

Several preparatory meetings for the World Conference Against Racism have also addressed this issue (including the European NGO meeting in Strasbourg, the African Expert meeting in Addis Ababa, and various Satellite Conferences).

- Given the magnitude and severity of this problem in Asia, and the abundant precedence for its inclusion in this forum, the international community should ensure that caste-based and similar discrimination against marginalized populations in Asia be explicitly addressed in the agenda of the WCAR. Dalits, Burakumin, and other populations in similar situations should be explicitly acknowledged as groups of people who have been subject to perennial and persistent forms of discrimination and abuse on the basis of their descent.

References to caste and descent-based discrimination, and measures strategies to combat this pervasive abuse, should be included in the Asian region Draft Declaration and Plan of Action for the WCAR>

- All governments, and in particular those of countries whose citizens suffer from caste or descent-based discrimination and abuse, should ratify and fully implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.

- These governments should also support efforts to implement the resolution on discrimination based on work and descent adopted by the U.N. Sub-Commission on Human Rights in August 2000.

The elimination of caste-based discrimination is a much-belated human rights concern. Despite the existence of progressive legislation and significant constitutional protections, the ground reality for so many millions remains unchanged.

In much of Asia, little regard will be paid to this conference if it does not effectively address this problem. As expressed by a speaker before the plenary this morning, "our bitter experience has shown that legal remedies alone" cannot remove the discrimination based on caste. The solution lies in concerted international attention to assist national governments in this important and long overdue work. While countries may ignore the pronouncement of UN treaty bodies, they cannot ignore their own constitutions or the voices of their own citizens. The spirit of this conference demands no less.