[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 139 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 139


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 24, 2007

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
        address the ongoing problem of untouchability in India.

Whereas the Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global 
        Justice at New York University School of Law released a report in 
        February 2007 that describes caste discrimination against India's 
        ``Untouchables'' based on in-depth investigations and the findings of 
        Indian governmental and non-governmental organizations on caste-based 
        abuses;
Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have entered into an 
        unprecedented partnership;
Whereas the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement between President George W. Bush and 
        Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that, ``[a]s leaders of nations 
        committed to the values of human freedom, democracy, and rule of law, 
        the new relationship between India and the United States will promote 
        stability, democracy, prosperity, and peace throughout the world [. . . 
        and] it will enhance our ability to work together to provide global 
        leadership in areas of mutual concern and interest'';
Whereas caste is the socioeconomic stratification of people in South Asia based 
        on a combination of work and heredity;
Whereas the ``Untouchables'', now known as the Dalits, and the people of the 
        forest tribes of India, called Tribals, who together number 
        approximately 200,000,000 people, are the primary victims of caste 
        discrimination in India;
Whereas discrimination against the Dalits and Tribals has existed for more than 
        2,000 years and has included educational discrimination, economic 
        disenfranchisement, physical abuse, discrimination in medical care, 
        religious discrimination, and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal women;
Whereas Article 17 of the Constitution of India outlaws untouchability;
Whereas despite numerous laws enacted for the protection and betterment of the 
        Dalits and Tribals, they are still considered outcasts in Indian society 
        and are treated as such; moreover, in practice, Dalits and Tribals are 
        frequently denied equal treatment under the law;
Whereas Dalit women suffer both caste and gender discrimination as a result of 
        the deficient administration of justice and are often raped and attacked 
        with impunity;
Whereas the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has 
        declared that many of the reported cases of atrocities against Dalits 
        and Tribals end in acquittals;
Whereas, despite the fact that many Dalits do not report crimes for fear of 
        reprisals by the dominant castes, national police statistics averaged 
        over the past five years by the National Commission on Scheduled Castes 
        and Scheduled Tribes show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five 
        Dalits' homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are 
        kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped every day, 
        11 Dalits are beaten every day and a crime is committed against a Dalit 
        every 18 minutes;
Whereas many Dalit girls are forced to become temple prostitutes who are then 
        unable to marry and may be auctioned to urban brothels, and many women 
        trafficked in India are Dalit women;
Whereas low-caste unborn females are targeted for abortions;
Whereas according to Human Rights Watch and India's official National Family 
        Health Survey, most Dalits and Tribals are among those poorest of the 
        poor living on less than $1 per day; most of India's bonded laborers are 
        Dalits; and half of India's Dalit children are undernourished, 21 
        percent are ``severely underweight'', and 12 percent die before their 
        5th birthday;
Whereas Dalits and other low-caste individuals often suffer from discrimination 
        and segregation in government primary schools leading to low enrollment, 
        high drop-out, and low literacy rates, perhaps linked to a perception 
        that Dalits are not meant to be educated, are incapable of being 
        educated, or if educated, would pose a threat to village hierarchies and 
        power relations;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals maintain higher illiteracy rates than non-Dalit 
        populations; and
Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic is India is massive and Dalits and Tribals are 
        significantly affected by HIV/AIDS: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that, as the leaders of the United 
States and the Republic of India have expressed commitment to the 
values of human freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, it is in the 
interests of the United States to address the problem of the treatment 
of the Dalits and Tribals in India in order to better meet mutual 
social development and human rights goals by--
                    (1) raising the issues of caste discrimination, 
                violence against women, and untouchability through 
                diplomatic channels both directly with the Government 
                of India and within the context of international 
                bodies;
                    (2) encouraging the United States Agency for 
                International Development to ensure that the needs of 
                Dalit organizations are incorporated in the planning 
                and implementation of development projects;
                    (3) ensuring that projects that positively impact 
                Dalit and Tribal communities, especially Dalit women, 
                are developed and implemented;
                    (4) ensuring that cooperative research programs 
                targeting rural health care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and 
                rural technology contain proper focus on the Dalits and 
                Tribals;
                    (5) ensuring that anyone receiving funding in India 
                from the United States Government--
                            (A) is aware that it is United States 
                        Government policy that caste discrimination is 
                        unacceptable, and that the United States is 
                        committed to eliminating it; and
                            (B) treat all people equally without 
                        engaging in caste discrimination;
                    (6) ensuring that--
                            (A) qualified Dalits are in no way 
                        discouraged from working with organizations 
                        receiving funding in India from the United 
                        States Government, and that transparent and 
                        fair recruitment, selection, and career 
                        development processes are implemented, with 
                        clear objective criteria; and
                            (B) procedures exist to detect and remedy 
                        any caste discrimination in employment 
                        conditions, wages, benefits or job security for 
                        anyone working with organizations receiving 
                        funding in India from the United States 
                        Government;
                    (7) encouraging United States citizens working in 
                India to avoid discrimination toward the Dalits in all 
                business interactions; and
                    (8) discussing the issue of caste during bilateral 
                and multilateral meetings, including congressional 
                delegations.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.

                               By Deborah M. Spriggs,

                                                          Deputy Clerk.