Mauritania finds itself at a pivotal juncture in the quest to secure housing rights for its population. Four decades after Ordinance No. 83-127 abolished customary ownership and vested all unregistered land in the State, landlessness, informal urban growth, and forced evictions remain acute. The State’s dual land-tenure framework—modern statutory law overlaid on largely unrecognised customary…
In a historic step for human rights of Communities Discriminated in Work and Descent (CDWD), Mali has officially outlawed slavery by descent through a sweeping reform of its Penal Code. On December 14, 2024, the National Transition Council approved amendments to the Penal Code that explicitly criminalise slavery and related practices, including descent-based slavery—marking a…
At the 2025 ECOSOC Youth Forum, history was made when Naveen Gautam, representing the Stakeholders Group of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) Youth Constituency, took the stage as the first Dalit youth leader to moderate a plenary session at the United Nations. His powerful remarks, delivered at the session titled “Social Development: Youth…
Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) rights expert Maria Atanasova spoke at the CSW69 Official Meeting: Interactive dialogue – Participation, accountability and gender-responsive institutions. Atanasova, a Roma woman representing the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, delivered a powerful speech calling for greater recognition and inclusion of marginalized communities at the…
On Friday, the Supreme Court of India, the country’s Apex court, dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Government of Maharashtra, one of the largest states in India, upholding a landmark judgment by the Bombay High Court. This judgment recognized intellectual property damage as compensable under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention…
