ENI — Nepal has been praised for its boldness by an alliance of non-governmental organizations backed by church groups fighting against caste discrimination in South Asia, which hope its stand will spur similar action from neighbours like India.
“Nepal strongly supports the U.N. guidelines on caste discrimination as an effective mechanism to eliminate a human rights outrage that affects 260 million people globally,” said Rikke Nöhrlind of the International Dalit Solidarity Network.
Caste discrimination that affects Dalits, who were once called “untouchables,” has been likened to the former apartheid system in South Africa.
In Geneva, Nepal’s state minister for general administration, Jeet Bahadur Gautam Darjee, confirmed his government’s support for a draft set of U.N. principles and guidelines, saying they are “a good reference in devising the ways and means to address the issue of caste-based discrimination” during the drafting process of Nepal’s new constitution.
