International report slams India for Dalit violations

(15 Feb. 2007) : “India has systematically failed to uphold its international legal obligations to ensure the fundamental human rights of Dalits, despite laws and policies against caste discrimination,” said the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and Human Rights Watch in a new report released on Tuesday.
The report points out that more than a 165 million Dalits in India are condemned to a lifetime of abuse, simply because of their caste. “Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools, and access to public services. They are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions. Entrenched discrimination violates Dalits’ rights to education, health, housing, property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment, and equal treatment before the law. Caste-motivated killings, rapes, and other abuses are a daily occurrence in India.
The 113-page report entitled: “Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India’s ‘Untouchables”, was produced as a “shadow report” in response to India’s submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The committee will review India’s compliance with the convention during hearings in Geneva on February 23 and 26.
The report claimed that between 2001 and 2002 close to 58,000 cases were registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. It quoted a 2005 government report to show that a crime is committed against a Dalit every 20 minutes.