ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 traced the development of the legal framework for capturing caste discrimination through the category of descent in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the engagement with caste discrimination by other United Nations (UN) treaty bodies. This chapter examines the contribution of the UN Charter procedures and mechanisms to the development of international law standards on caste discrimination. Chief among these are the former UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups) and the UN Universal Periodic Review mechanism. The chapter also examines the part played by the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance; the UN minority rights mechanisms; and International Labour Organisation conventions and mechanisms.
