Statement by India in the 14th Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards (22 July-2 August 2024) delivered by Mr. K.S. Mohammed Hussain, First Secretary (Legal), Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, on 30 July 2024

Madam Chair,

1. The delegation of India takes note of the updated Chairperson’s draft document concerning the possible scope, terms, elements and structure of the “draft additional protocol to the Convention criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature”.

2. We see a reference to “caste” in Annex 5 of the document. While the Convention specifies descent as one of the five grounds of racial discrimination, the term ‘descent’ only refers to discrimination such as that faced by people of Asian and African descent. This is clear from the official UN records of the discussions during the drafting of the Convention in 1965 that show that the term ‘descent’ had actually been introduced by India to clarify the term ‘national origin’ that was being objected to by various countries owing to the ambiguity relating to the word ‘national.’ As shown by the records of deliberations, at no stage was there any reference by any delegate from any country to use the term ‘descent’ to cover caste. By the General Recommendation No. 29, that attempts to expand the meaning of the term ‘descent’ to include caste-based discrimination, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has ignored the Convention’s drafting history.

3. Madam Chair, India reiterates its position that caste cannot be equated with race or covered within descent under Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. India has always maintained that members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are of the same racial and ethnic origin as other Indians. The delegation of India strongly urges to remove reference to caste from the updated draft document.

Thank you.