Declaration for the Elimination of Descent-Based Discrimination (2018)

Prior to the International Symposium on UN Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination in Tokyo on 12 April 2018, IMADR and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) held the International Consultation for the Elimination of Descent- Based Discrimination in Osaka on 9 April. The Consultation was attended by 10 representatives from Dalit civil society in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, leaders of Buraku Liberation League (BLL), the former UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and a representative from the OHCHR.

As an outcome document of the consultation, Dalit and Buraku civil society organisations adopted the “Declaration for the Elimination of Descent-Based Discrimination”. Whole text can be read below or downloaded here. 

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Declaration for the Elimination of Descent-Based Discrimination 

Welcoming the International Consultation for the Elimination of Descent- Based Discrimination in Osaka held on 9 April, 2018 and hosted by the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR);

Having held the consultation to share good practices and challenges in combatting descent-based discrimination, namely with: Dalits from India, Bangladesh, Nepal; Plantation Community from Sri Lanka; and Burakumin from Japan and stakeholders;

Deeply concerned by the prevalence of discrimination, segregation, exclusion, exploitation, killings, physical and psychological abuse inflicted on right holders on the basis of caste and analogous systems of inherited status which continue to affect millions of people;

Deploring multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination women and girls face; based on gender, and its intersection with caste and analogous systems of inherited status;

Affirming the importance of the United Nations Guidance Tool on Descent-based Discrimination, and reaffirming the positive role of civil society organizations and, in particular those led by Dalit, Burakumin and other affected communities, in combatting descent-based discrimination;

Determined to promote solidarity among stakeholders from affected communities for the elimination of descent-based discrimination in the world, we commit to undertake the following actions at the national, regional and international levels: we will

National level

1. Strengthen cooperation between affected communities including civil society organizations, national human rights institutions, the United Nations and its agencies, and States,

2. Promote the United Nations Guidance Tool among United Nations Country Teams, development agencies, and civil society organizations,

3. Mainstream the issue of descent-based discrimination in legislations, policies and measures related to the enjoyment of human rights by all

4. Promote the full implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in line with the General Recommendation No. 29 (2002) by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD),

5. Encourage stakeholders in Japan to review the achievements and challenges of programmes elaborated under the Dowa Special Measures while using as reference the Guidance Tool, and share good practices with other affected communities,

Regional level

6. Enhance collaborations at the regional level among civil society, regional and sub-regional networks and institutions

7. Sustain communications among those gathered today as well as other concerned communities by updating each other and exchanging ideas with regard to progress, challenges and new opportunities in the implementation of this Declaration,

International level

8. Promote an exclusive platform, forum, and alliance to focus on intersectional aspects of descent-based discrimination, particularly through bringing in women from all affected communities,

9. Promote mainstreaming of descent-based issues in the work of UN human rights mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), special procedures and treaty bodies,

10. Encourage the UN Human Rights Council to address descent-based discrimination as a global issue,

11. Aim at the creation of a special procedure mechanism of the Human Rights Council that mandated to promote the elimination of descent-based

9th April 2018, Osaka, Japan

The International Consultation for the Elimination of Descent-Based Discrimination

The  International  Movement  Against  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  and  Racism (IMADR)

Asia  Dalit  Rights  Forum (ADRF)

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights-NCDHR

Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO)

Dalit NGO Federation (DNF)

Samata  Foundation Nepal

Nagorik Uddyog (Citizen’s Initiative)

Bangladesh Dalit Women’s Federation

Human Development Organization (HDO)

Buraku Liberation League (BLL)