The four main themes of the ICN are:
- Child labour and education
- Corporate accountability in sectors such as garments, natural stone, seeds and tea
- Dalits (caste discrimination)
- Human Rights: policies and practices in India
Over the years more linkages were established between our themes and therefore more opportunities for action and influence. For example, corporate social responsibility (CSR) can play an important role in eradicating child labour and caste discrimination. Besides that, we look specifically to child labour and the access to education of Dalit children and use that knowledge in our CSR activities.
The geographic focus of the ICN is shifting from India to South Asia. The political and economic relations of India with countries in the region have become more important. In addition, our themes are not limited to India but they are also very relevant to other South Asian countries. Discrimination against Dalits occurs across South Asia and violations of labour rights in the textile and clothing industry are a regional problem.
ICN cooperates with a wide variety of organisations that fight for global justice. The cooperation with local organisations is of great importance to gain insight in human rights and labour rights violations in India/ South Asia and to take joint action accordingly. Based on the expertise from the past 40 years, ICN contributes to solutions for the problems raised by these local NGO’s.