‘Caste’ as 'DWD' in International Law: Convincing or Compromising?

What is it about?

The difficulty in categorising caste discrimination into standard categories of human rights violations has forced Dalit activists into comparing caste discrimination with racial discrimination – a highly condemned practice in international law. This strategy materialised through the word ‘descent’ in Article 1 of the ICERD. Currently, caste discrimination has become important on the human rights agenda under the guise of ‘discrimination based on work and descent’ (DWD), and by extension, ‘racial discrimination’. The main theme of this article is to address the capability of the DWD mechanism to comprehensively capture the intricacies of caste discrimination. Upon analysis, it was found that DWD dilutes the religious aspect of the caste system. Hence, this article advocates a caste-specific Convention, which focuses on both religious and secular aspects of the caste system. This won’t happen soon; therefore, caste should be maintained as a unique form of DWD in the meantime.

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Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Utilising international legal mechanisms and creating solidarity with similarly oppressed groups worldwide is essential to effectively fight against caste discrimination in this globalized world. This is one of the few works dealing with caste and international law. This article analyses the effectiveness of international human rights law categories in addressing caste discrimination.

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