End caste discrimination, says rights body

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End caste discrimination, says rights body

New York: Governments in countries with caste systems should respond to the call from a top UN official to end caste discrimination, Human Rights Watch, the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights as well as the International Dalit Solidarity Network have said.

The organisations urged governments in South Asia and other regions to cooperate with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who has issued a strong call to end caste discrimination.In an opinion article, Pillay stated that "the time has come to eradicate the shameful concept of caste," and urged the international community to come together "as it did when it helped put an end to apartheid".

She argued that "other seemingly insurmountable walls, such as slavery and apartheid, have been dismantled in the past" and concluded that "we can and must tear down the barriers of caste too"."Governments in India and other caste-affected countries should support the new UN framework to eliminate caste discrimination," said Rikke, coordinator of the International Dalit Solidarity Network.

"It is time for these nations to cooperate with the UN to address a human rights issue that affects 260 million people."According to one account, as many as 200 million victims of caste discrimination live in India. Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also have sizeable Dalit populations. Communities in Africa, Yemen and Japan are similarly affected.