UN racism conference doubtful of rendering Dalits freedom

There might not be any substantial development in the case of Dalits at the UN anti-racism conference that began Monday in Geneva.

The conference from April 20-24 has been boycotted by the United States, Israel, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Germany over remarks on Israel and the Holocaust. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the opening session he was "profoundly disappointed" at the boycotts.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) had last week in a statement expressed high expectations in the UN conference, which they said might put an end to the 3,500-year old caste oppression in India.

The Christian ecumenical organization noted that 8 years back the Durban conference failed to accentuate the Dalits affliction, hoping this year it would play a vital role in rendering freedom to millions of people affected by social inequality and caste stigma in the country.

They admitted that unless it is 'internationalised' it is difficult to abrogate the 'untouchable' discrimination.

Pope Benedict XVI also called on the delegates at the conference to work together, "in a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance." This would be "a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights."

Recently, a Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits was held in Bangkok where church leaders called upon the international community "to offer a platform to those representing Dalit communities" and also urged "all participating governments to accept the inclusion of caste-based discrimination in their discussions."

A Bangkok Declaration was later framed calling on global ecumenical bodies to develop their ongoing work on justice for Dalits and to "speak with a united voice in working towards their liberation."

According to the declaration, churches are expected to implement awareness-raising programs, empower Dalits, monitor and respond to caste atrocities, encourage Dalits to express their culture in worship, liturgy and theology, and support Dalit women's initiatives.

The Dalits otherwise known as 'untouchables' or 'low caste' live in segregation and experience violence, murder, rape and other atrocities to the scale of 110,000 registered cases a year, according to 2005 statistics.

Their status according to the traditional Hindu society is associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure such as manual scavengers, cleaning sewers and clearing away dead animals.

There are 250 million Dalits in India. Of the 25 million Christians, at least 20 million are Dalits.