Editor’s note: Across West Africa, several ethnic groups, including the Tuareg, Wolof, Mandinka, Bambara, Fulani, Soninké, Hausa, and Zarma, maintain rigid social hierarchies often described as caste systems. In these societies, the ‘nobles’ are regarded as freeborn, while ‘slaves,’ descendants of captive slaves and the slave trade, continue to face discrimination and remain vulnerable to…
Paul Diwakar, Convener of the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD), welcomed a recent report, presented by the UN Special Rapporteur Dr Surya Deva, that extensively cited the Collective for Discrimination Based on Work and Descent (CDWD). Diwakar emphasised that every human being, regardless of their background or occupation, possesses an…
In July 2024, Simona Torotcoi addressed the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, a subdivision of both the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Economic and Social Council, responsible for the entire organisation’s policy on sustainable development. Simona, a Roma from Romania and currently working with the ERGO Network, is a part of…
This submission has been coordinated by Simona Torotcoi, GFoD, Coordinator for Europe, with inputs from the following GFoD rights experts: Marina Csikós, and Fikrija Tair Selmani. Discrimination based on Work and Descent (DWD) affects more than 270 million people worldwide. Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) can be found on all continents: Dalit communities…
The Stakeholder Group of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent comprises representatives of various communities including Haratins, Soninke and others in Africa, Quilombola and Palenques in Latin America, Roma in Europe, and Burakumin and Dalits in Asia, numbering more than 270 million people globally. This discrimination based on work and descent involves exclusion and segregation…
