Questions by Tjon-A-Ten (PvdA) on the discrimination of casteless people (Dalits) (12-9-2005)

Questions by Tjon-A-Ten, member of Dutch parliament (PvdA) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
on the discrimination of casteless people (Dalits) (September 12, 2005)

1
Have you taken note of the report: “The missing Piece of the Puzzle: caste Discrimination and the conflict in Nepal” by the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice¹?

2
Do you share the vision of the report that caste discrimination is an important cause of the conflict in Nepal, but that in particular ‘casteless people’ (Dalits), specifically women, are being victimized by this?

3
What do the Dutch Consulate in Nepal and the Dutch Embassy in India to raise caste discrimination as a human rights issue with the Nepalese and Indian government respectively?

4
What priority does the discrimination of casteless and tribal communities as a human rights issue have in:
a. Projects and programmes of among others SNV Nepal, the European Union, the Asia Development Bank², the World Bank³, UNICEF, UNDP and other UN-organisations?

b. Political, cultural, economical and developmental relationships with countries, in particular in Asia and Africa, where this problem is rampant?⁴

5
What will the Netherlands do with the recommendations in the so-called Kathmandu Dalit Declaration⁴, that have been adopted during the comprehensive ‘International Consultation on caste-based discrimination’ in 2004?

6
What will be the contribution of The Netherlands to ensure the success of the two Special Rapporteurs unanimously assigned by the UN Human Rights Commission in April 2005 to undertake comprehensive research on caste discrimination and to formulate guidelines for the elimination thereof?⁵

7
Can the government give an overview of initiatives and programmes sponsored by the Netherlands that prioritize the elimination of caste discrimination?

8

a. Which concrete measures do the Netherlands take to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals are also achieved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes through programmes financed by the Dutch government?

b. How will, in particular the Millennium Goal “Reducing poverty by half”, be measured for these specific groups?

9
Are you familiar with the - by the Dalit Solidarity Network formulated - Ambedkar Principles? Which measures can the Netherlands take to promote that these Ambedkar principles are incorporated in the CSR-policy of Dutch companies?⁷

1.	New York, 2005. See: http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/MissingPieceOfThePuzzle.pdf.
2.	See website ADB: the ADB has led Nepal US $2.2 billion till 31–12–2005. Nepal is now busy with a Country Strategy Paper 2005–2009.
3.	See website World Bank: New Delhi, August 20, 2005: “The World Bank is ready to lend up to US$ 3 billion over the next three years to support a rural infrastructure program in India, called Bharat Nirman, especially to build roads, provide drinking water and establish irrigation facilities in Indian villages, mostly through state level projects.”
4.	See petition 'Stop Kastendiscriminatie – Steun de Dalits!' of the Dalit Network Nederland (CMC, Cordaid, ICCO, Justia et Pax and the India Committee of the Netherlands): http://www.indianet.nl/dnnpetitie.html.
5.	See: http://www.idsn.org/KDD.pdf.
6.	See: http://www.indianet.nl/pb050420.html.
7.	See: http://www.indianet.nl/ambedkarprinciples.html.

India Committee of the Netherlands - September 15, 2005