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…
The International Conference on Empowering Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) in Africa convened on April 3, 2025, bringing together activists, academics, legal experts, and community representatives from across the continent. The gathering focused on the urgent need to address entrenched discrimination faced by marginalized groups across Africa—particularly those impacted by caste-like systems, descent-based…
The 2025 UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development convened under the theme “Advancing Sustainable, Inclusive, Science- and Evidence-based Solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs in the ECE region, Leaving No One Behind.” The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent organized a side event focusing specifically on SDG5…
The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. As governments and stakeholders meet to assess global progress on gender equality, the continued exclusion of women from Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) remains a concern. To…
