On 29 June 2016 Heidi with a group of other MEPs sent the high representative Mogherini an appeal to take caste discrimination to the EU foreign policy agenda.
HR Mogherini answered the MEPs with a letter on 20 July 2016
HR Mogherini’s response concerning EU’s work to address caste discrimination was all in all positive. I was, however, hoping to get a reaction to our request for EU’s active support to the initiatives to eradicate caste discrimination at the multilateral level. It remains unclear what the EU is going to do in order to guarantee the visibility of caste discrimination amongst other human rights issues. We were hoping it would be raised as one of the human rights priorities in the international agenda.
In addition, I would have hoped to receive some concrete examples of how the United Nations recommendations have been included in the bilateral cooperation and dialogue with the countries where case discrimination is prevalent.
Still, I am happy to learn that the EU is directing funds from the European instrument for democracy and human rights to the caste discrimination, and that the UN guidance tool on discrimination will be used in the future. I hope the EU’s own strategy for antidiscrimination under preparation will offer an efficient additional tool for the work.
