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…

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…

UN Special Rapporteur Dr Surya Deva cites status of CDWD in his report on Right to Development

UN Special Rapporteur Dr Surya Deva cites status of CDWD in his report on Right to Development

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…

Paul Divakar

GFoD convener Paul Divakar makes passionate appeal to save India’s CDWD among intense heatwave

Paul Divakar, the convener of the Global Forum on Discrimination, has issued a passionate appeal against the increasing dangers of climate change and how it is leaving India’s CDWD with nowhere to go.  In a story published by Al Jazeera titled: “‘I’m in hell’: How rising heat is amplifying India’s social divides”, Divakar said the…