Date: Monday, 22 March, 2021

Time: 2 PM (CET) / 8PM (BKK)

Venue: Zoom

Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUlduCtpj8oHdHINucCA08Rb_SiGIAXWJle

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The aim of the side event is to discuss the various forms in which online caste-hate speech manifests, the gravity of such manifestations and the concrete means to combat it. The event will be composed of a panel of UN experts, Dalit activists and partner NGOs, composing a mix of technical background and first-hand experience. The event will take stock of the debates and conclusions of the 2020 edition of the Forum on Minority Issues, which tackled the issue of online hate speech and will feature a presentation of ground-breaking research on caste-hate speech commissioned by IDSN.

Keynote speaker:

• Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

Panellists: 

• Murali Shanmugavelan, Researcher and author of IDSN’s caste-hate speech report
• Beena Pallical, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, India
• Riya Singh, Dalit Women Fight Collective, India
• Tamanna Singh Baraik, Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Minorities, Bangladesh
• Anju Kandel, Jagaran Media Centre, Nepal
• Elaine Alam, Faces Pakistan, Pakistan

Other digital activists and experts from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (TBC)

Moderated by Meena Varma, Executive Director, International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)

Sponsored by FORUM-ASIA, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) and Minority Rights Group (MRG) and supported by International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), this side event aims to discuss the various forms in which online caste-hate speech manifests, the gravity of such manifestations and the concrete means to combat it.

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Media contact:

For more information or to set up an interview with any of the speakers, please contact Melissa Ananthraj, Communication and Media Programme Manager, FORUM-ASIA at [email protected]

About the organisations:

• The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a Bangkok-based regional network of 81 member organisations across 21 Asian countries, with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity-development and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has sub-regional offices in Geneva, Jakarta, and Kathmandu. forum-asia.org
• International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) is an international non-profit, non-governmental human rights organization devoted to eliminating discrimination and racism, forging international solidarity among discriminated minorities and advancing the international human rights system. Founded in 1988 by one of Japan’s largest minorities, the Buraku people, IMADR has grown to be a global network of concerned individuals and minority groups with regional committees and partners in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. IMADR’s International Secretariat is based in Japan and maintains a UN liaison office in Geneva. IMADR is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). imadr.org
• Minority Rights Group International is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with an international governing Council that meets twice a year. We have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and observer status with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. It campaigns worldwide with around 150 partners in over 50 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard. minorityrights.org
• International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) was founded in March 2000 to advocate for Dalit human rights and to raise awareness of Dalit issues nationally and internationally. IDSN is a network of international human rights groups, development agencies, national Dalit solidarity networks from Europe, and national platforms in caste-affected countries. idsn.org