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Key Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination

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Key Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination Key Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities UNITED NATIONS Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination Key Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities UNITED NATIONS 2017 iii Contents Page Acronyms and abbreviations v Key to color-coded boxes vi I. Introduction, purpose and methodology 1 1. Introduction 1 1 2 Methodology: a human rights-based approach to United Nations programming 5 II. Descent-based discrimination 2 1 The extent and form of descent-based discrimination 2 1 1 Inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status 11 2 1 2 Socially enforced restrictions on marriage outside the community 12 2 1 3 Private and public segregation and subjection to dehumanizing discourses of pollution or untouchability 13 2 1 4 Limitation of freedom to renounce inherited occupations or degrading or hazardous work 14 2 1 5. Subjection to debt bondage 15 2 1 6 Generalized lack of respect for their human dignity and equality 15 2 1 7 Descent-based discrimination is not gender-neutral 17 2 2 Regional and national efforts to combat descent-based discrimination 19 III. International standards and mechanisms 3 1. International standards 25 3 2 Human rights mechanisms 32 IV. Ensuring the participation of right-holders and engaging with duty-bearers and other relevant stakeholders 4 1 Ensuring the participation of affected descent-based communities 37 4 2 Promoting accountability and access to justice for descent-based communities 40 4 3. Building strategic partnerships with duty-bearers and other relevant stakeholders 4 3 1 State actors and institutions 44 4 3 2 National human rights institutions and equality bodies 46 iv • Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination Page 4 3 3. Other relevant actors Civil Society 48 The private sector 49 Trade unions 51 Development agencies and other donors 51 Regional mechanisms 52 V. Coordinating United Nations efforts to combat descent-based discrimination 5 1. Inter-agency coordination 55 5 1 1 Examples of possible means and activities to help coordinate the work of UNCTs on descent-based discrimination 57 5 1 2 Improving staff diversity 58 5 2 Addressing descent-based discrimination in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and Common Country Assessment process 59 5 3 Other entry points to combating descent-based discrimination 61 5 3 1 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 61 5 3 2 Human Rights up Front (HRuF) 62 5 3 3 Poverty reduction strategies 64 5 3 4. Humanitarian emergency assistance 65 VI. Leaving no one behind: pursuing evidence-based actions, policies and programming 6 1 Collecting disaggregated data 71 6 1 1 How can the collection of disaggregated data, including along gender lines, target descent-based discrimination? 74 6 1 2 Which sources should inform the development of monitoring frameworks and indicators? 75 6 1 3 How can the United Nations support better data collection? 76 6 2 Framing questions for analysis and action 77 6 2 1. Questions for situational analysis 78 6 2 2 Identifying key areas of intervention to address the situation of descent-based communities 79 6 3. Translating findings into action and programmes 85 • v Acronyms and abbreviations CAT Committee against Torture CCA Common Country Assessment CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CRC Committee on the Rights of the Child CSO Civil society organization DWCP Decent Work Country Programme HRBA Human Rights-Based Approach HRCttee Human Rights Committee HRC Human Rights Council HRuF Human Rights up Front ICAT International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICEDAW International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICRC Convention on the Rights of the Child IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILC International Labour Conference ILO International Labour Organization NGO non-governmental organization NHRI national human rights institution OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers RC Resident Coordinator SDGs Sustainable Development Goals UNCT United Nations Country Team UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDG United Nations Development Group vi • Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNHCR Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UPR universal periodic review Key to colour-coded boxes Key concepts Spotlight on United Nations action/in-country developments Key messages Key resources 1 I. Introduction, purpose and methodology 1.1. Introduction Promoting and encouraging respect for human rights without discrimination is one of the main purposes and principles of the United Nations, as enshrined in article 1 of the United Nations Charter All United Nations agencies, funds and programmes are governed by, and have a mandate to promote, the principles of the United Nations Charter As clearly stated in the Guidance Note on Human Rights for Resident Coordina- tors and UN Country Teams, meeting this mandate is not optional; it is a duty for the whole United Nations System 1 Across the globe, millions of people face segregation, exploitation, and physical and psychological abuse because of their caste or other inherited status2 into which they are born Most of the affected communities are in South Asia—where they are known as Dalits—but similarly affected groups are also found elsewhere in Asia as well as in Africa (especially West Africa and the Horn of Africa), in the Middle East, and among the diaspora communities from South Asia and Africa 3 As the findings of United Nations human rights mechanisms make clear, descent-based discrimination is not restricted to one region or one belief system Even though United Nations human rights instruments do not refer explicitly to caste- based or analogous forms4 of discrimination, related jurisprudence has made it clear that these treaty norms also cover those forms of discrimination, and that States there- fore have a legal obligation under international law to address such discrimination This 1 The United Nations Charter, which establishes the mandate of the United Nations, sets out that a central purpose of the United Nations is “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all”, without discrimination (art 1) Guidance Note on Human Rights for Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams, para 22, available from https://undg org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/UNDG-Guidance-Note-on -Human-Rights-for-RCs-and-UNCTs-final pdf 2 The Special Rapporteur on minority issues has noted that the term “caste” refers to a strict hierarchical social system that is often based on the notions of purity and pollution, in which individuals placed at the bottom of the system may face exclusion and discrimination in a wide range of areas The con- cept of “caste system” is primarily associated with the South Asian region, where its existence is linked to the religiously sanctioned social structure of Hinduism, which identified four original and endogamous groups, or castes, called varnas At present, the term “caste” has broadened in meaning, transcending religious affiliation Caste and caste-like systems may be based on either a religious or a secular background and can be found within diverse religious and/or ethnic groups in all geographical regions, including within diaspora communities Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues (A/HRC/31/56), paras 26 and 27 3 Ibid , para 31 See also Expanded working paper by Mr Asbjørn Eide and Mr Yozo Yokota on the topic of discrimination based on work and descent (E/CN 4/Sub 2/2004/31), para 35 4 Similar forms 2 • Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination has been stated particularly forcefully by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in the 2002 General Recommendation No. 29 on descent- based discrimination, in which the Committee concluded that discrimination based on descent covers caste and analogous systems of inherited status and is thereby covered by the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) In March 2013, the United Nations Secretary-General endorsed the Guidance Note on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities setting out a framework for United Nations action with a view to ensuring a comprehensive and coherent United Nations approach on racial discrimination and protection of minorities, from headquarters to regional and country presences The Guidance Note contains 19 recommendations for the United Nations system on how to address racial discrimination
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