Wednesday, May 23 Back to the calendar Wednesday, May 23 4 of the 6 voted in! Yesterday's voting on the 6 NGOs who were denied accreditation went as follows: Asia Indigenous People's Pact (Thailand) - accredited People's Forum for Human Rights and Development (Bhutan) - accredited Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy - accredited International Campaign for Tibet - accredited Human Rights in China - rejected Tamil Centre for Human Rights - no vote taken, rejected This result is unprecedented in the history of accreditation of NGOs and largely due to the efforts of the UN NGO Liaison office. This article appeared in the NEW YORK TIMES about it: Two Tibetan Groups Are Allowed to Attend U.N. Meeting on Racism UNITED NATIONS, May 22 - Two Tibetan exile organizations usually barred by China from international events got the go-ahead today to participate in a United Nations conference on racism and other forms of discrimination to be held this summer in Durban, South Africa. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, and the International Campaign for Tibet, both with ties to the Dalai Lama, were backed by a committee of nations meeting in Geneva to plan the conference. The organization Human Rights in China, based in New York, was excluded, however. Xiao Qiang, the organization's executive director, said that China had turned the application process into a political litmus test, and that a majority of South American nations as well as South Africa had voted against his organization. Back to today, Wednesday May 23, Today the proposal made yesterday by a group of Latin American and Caribbean governments (GRULAC) to split the work in two groups, one for the Draft Declaration, the other for the Draft Programme of Action, in order to speed things up, was rejected. The compromise that was reached by the governments is that 4 representatives from each region are getting together in a closed session tonight and tomorrow to 'clean up' the 109 page draft Declaration and Programme of Action, and make it a more manageable size. Of course by just having governmental representatives work on this while the NGOs can't even be in the room to observe, made the NGOs wonder what, if any, role they play in the WCAR. So after some deliberation it was decided that the governmental group does work on the document in closed sessions tonight and on Thursday. Friday in the morning the new version will be made available to the NGOs, and they will have to hand in their remarks in the afternoon. On Monday a fresh start will be made discussing the new version of the draft Declaration and Programme of Action. The NGOs were busy today working on comments, recommendations, amendments and suggestions for the NGO Forum draft Declaration. A very preliminary version of the working draft Declaration can be found at: http://www.racism.org.za/index.html This working draft document was based on the regional declarations and documents produced at the experts seminars, which were held in each region. This working draft was produced for the purpose of discussion only. The intention of the now formed Drafting Committee, with representatives from each region, is to produce a revised Draft Declaration by Tuesday May 29. NGOs will then have an opportunity to review and comment on this second Draft Declaration before June 15, via email to Major Kobese at SANGOCO: major@wcar.sangoco.org.za These comments will be incorporated into the Draft Declaration in July in order to present a more thorough document in Durban. I CARE News team Today's contribution by others: CASTE DISCRIMINATION - A GLOBAL PROBLEM Inhuman treatment of a vast global population has been justified on the basis of their caste. In much of Asia and parts of Africa, birth into a particular ‘caste’ (derived from the Portuguese word ‘casta’, meaning ‘race’) is the basis for the definition and exclusion of distinct population groups by reason of their descent. For over 250 million people worldwide—who continue to suffer under hidden apartheid, segregation, modern day slavery, extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation, and violence—caste imposes enormous obstacles to the full attainment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. 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 he or she practicesl. Caste discrimination is discrimination on the basis of work (i.e. occupation within society) and descent. Under various caste systems, divisions in housing, marriage, and general social interaction are reinforced through the threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts, and physical violence. Communities adversely affected by caste or caste-like systems include: Dalits (so-called untouchables) of Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan; Burakumin of Japan; Osu of Nigeria; and Rodiya of Sri Lanka Other countries with caste or caste-like systems include: Senegal; Mauritania; Mali; Guinea; Madagascar; and Countries with a significant Indian diaspora, including Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as countries in East and South Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Common Features of Global Caste Systems These communities share many features in common; features that have allowed even the most appalling practices to escape international scrutiny. In many cases, caste systems coexist with otherwise democratic structures. In countries such as India and Nigeria, governments have also enacted progressive legislation to combat atrocities against lower-caste communities, however discriminatory treatment remains endemic, and discriminatory societal norms continue to be reinforced by government and private structures and practices, frequently through violent means. Common features shared by caste systems in various countries include: Impunity for perpetrators of crimes against low-caste communities Physical segregation Social segregation, including the prevention of inter-marriage Restrictions on occupations (frequently limited to the most menial and filthy forms of work) Use of degrading language to describe those from the oppressed section based on constructed notions of purity and pollution, filth and cleanliness High levels of illiteracy, poverty and landlessness Pervasive debt bondage due to poor remuneration for ‘low-caste’ occupations Non-implementation of any legislation designed to address the discrimination Double-discrimination and exacerbated exploitation against ‘low-caste’ women Caste Discrimination Buried Beneath Poverty Lower-caste communities are almost invariably indistinguishable in physical appearance from higher-caste communities. For most outsiders then, the visual cues that otherwise accompany race or ethnicity, are often completely lacking. Stark economic disparities between low and high-caste communities can also be buried under a seemingly homogenous landscape of poverty. Poverty also masks a lack of political will to change the status quo by shifting the debate to a lack of resources. A closer look reveals the discrimination inherent in the allocation of jobs, land, basic resources, amenities and even physical security. A closer look at victims of violence, bonded labor, and other severe abuses also reveals that in many cases they are the lowest ranking in the caste order. A perpetual state of economic dependency allows for such abuses to go unpunished, while a biased state machinery looks the other way, or worse, becomes complicit in the abuse. U.N. Recognizes Caste as a form of Racial Discrimination…. Caste discrimination’s place in the WCAR has been confirmed by numerous international bodies created by treaties and by the title of the conference itself. The urgent need to address the enormous problem of caste discrimination has been identified by the U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’ August 2000 resolution on Discrimination Based on Work and Descent, aimed at addressing the issue of caste as discrimination based on work and descent. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has also repeatedly affirmed that caste, as a form of descent-based discrimination, falls within the definition of racial discrimination under article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). CERD has affirmed that "the situation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes falls within the scope of" the ICERD. CERD’s findings in relation to the reports of Japan (March 2001), Bangladesh (March 2001), Nepal (August 2000) and India (September 1996) have all affirmed that caste-based discrimination falls under the purview of ICERD, as a form of racial discrimination. Similar conclusions have been 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]." Several preparatory meetings for WCAR have highlighted the need to address caste-based discrimination. These include the Asia-Pacific Experts Seminar in Bangkok, the European NGO meeting in Strasbourg, the African Experts Seminar in Addis Ababa, the NGO forum in Tehran, the Asia-Pacific NGO meeting in Kathmandu, the Global Conference Against Racism and Caste-Based Discrimination in New Delhi, and various Satellite Conferences, including the Bellagio Consultation. ….but Caste remains Excluded from WCAR Various manifestations of caste and descent-based discrimination and abuse exist in over a dozen countries, yet it remains a neglected issue in the international community. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance (WCAR) presents an ideal opportunity to begin to address this blight on the UN’s human rights record. Scant attention will be paid to this conference in many parts of the world if it fails to recognise such a widespread, extreme form of discrimination on the basis of work and descent. Will the voices of a quarter of a billion people be silenced yet again in the name of diplomacy, or will the conference be a landmark moment in the ongoing effort to eradicate apartheid from the face of the earth? International Dalit Solidarity Network. http://www.dalits.org Back to the calendar