New Jersey declares September 21 as Global Caste Awareness Day

New Jersey declares September 21 as Global Caste Awareness Day

In a landmark step towards fighting caste-based discrimination, New Jersey officially declared September 21 as Global Caste Awareness Day, following a resolution passed by the Jersey City Municipal Council. This significant move highlights the need to address caste-based discrimination, a pervasive issue affecting millions of people globally, particularly those in the South Asian diaspora.  The…

Giving a voice to Africa’s CDWD: The fight for recognition, rights and representation

Giving a voice to Africa’s CDWD: The fight for recognition, rights and representation

One of the first questions when talking about any marginalized community across the world is about their population, distribution, and the data to support these facts. But what if such data is not available? What if the marginalized community is not even recognized as such? What if the government outrightly dismisses any claims made by…

Témoignage – Rencontre avec un forgeron de la communauté Touareg au quartier Lossougoungou 

Témoignage – Rencontre avec un forgeron de la communauté Touareg au quartier Lossougoungou 

Je m’appelle Zeinabou, je suis Experte en Droit auprès du GFoD et je souhaite partager aujourd’hui une petite discussion avec un certain M. Obaz sur les droits de l’homme après une séance de formation sur l’utilisation de la DUDH pour sensibiliser les communautés discriminées en matière de travail et d’ascendance. Lossougoungou est un quartier de…

Testimonial – Meeting with a Blacksmith from the Tuareg community in Niger

Testimonial – Meeting with a Blacksmith from the Tuareg community in Niger

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…

Climate change impact CDWD extensively, says UN Special Rapporteur Dr Surya Deva 

Climate change impact CDWD extensively, says UN Special Rapporteur Dr Surya Deva 

A report by Dr Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, highlighted the severe impacts of climate change on Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD), linking these challenges directly to the broader context of climate justice.  The report, which referred to the work done by Global Forum on Discrimination extensively, underscored how…