UN panel concerned about violence against Dalit women

A United Nations panel has expressed concern over what it called an alarming number of allegations of acts of sexual violence against Dalit and tribal women in India, who were being "trafficked and forced into prostitution."

The Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which concluded its session in Geneva on Thursday, asked the Indian government to establish special courts and task forces to deal with this problem.

A summary of the observations of the committee were made available at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The committee, which considered India's report on the issue, also expressed concern about reports of "arbitrary arrest, torture and extra-judicial killings" of members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by police and about "frequent failure to protect" these groups against communal violence.

Demanding disciplinary or criminal measures against police and other law enforcement officers who "violated their duty to protect" them, the committee urged the Indian government to introduce mandatory training on the application of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) act for police, judges and prosecutors.

Taking note of India's position that caste-based discrimination fell outside the scope of the International Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the committee maintained its position that discrimination based on descent included discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste which nullified or impaired their equal enjoyment of human rights.