Introduction

'Introduction' to David Keane and Annapurna Waughray (eds.), Fifty Years of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: A Living Instrument (Manchester University Press, 2017) This is the very first edited collection on International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the oldest of the UN international human rights treaties. It draws together a range of commentators including current or former members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), along with academic and other experts, to discuss the meaning and relevance of the treaty on its fiftieth anniversary. The contributions examine the shift from a narrow understanding of racial discrimination in the 1960s, premised on countering colonialism and apartheid, to a wider meaning today drawing in a range of groups such as minorities, indigenous peoples, caste groups, and Afro-descendants. In its unique combination of CERD and expert analysis, the collection acts as an essential guide to the international understanding of racial discrimination and the pathway towards its elimination

Introduction

This is the very first edited collection on International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the oldest of the UN international human rights treaties. It draws together a range of commentators including current or former members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), along with academic and other experts, to discuss the meaning and relevance of the treaty on its fiftieth anniversary. The contributions examine the shift from a narrow understanding of racial discrimination in the 1960s, premised on countering colonialism and apartheid, to a wider meaning today drawing in a range of groups such as minorities, indigenous peoples, caste groups, and Afro-descendants. In its unique combination of CERD and expert analysis, the collection acts as an essential guide to the international understanding of racial discrimination and the pathway towards its elimination

Does U.S. Federal Employment Law Now Cover Caste Discrimination Based on Untouchability?: If All Else Fails There Is the Possible Application of Bostock v. Clayton County

This article discusses the issue of whether a victim of caste discrimination based on untouchability can assert a claim of intentional employment discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981. This article contends that there are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is a form of religious discrimination under Title VII. The question of whether caste discrimination is a form of race or national origin discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981 depends upon how the courts apply these definitions to caste discrimination based on untouchability. There are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is recognized within the concept of race discrimination or national origin discrimination under Title VII or race discrimination under Section 1981. However, if courts reject these conclusions, the approach adopted by the Supreme Court in its June 2020 decision in Bostock v Clayton County would provide another potent legal argument for recognizing such discrimination. The Bostock approach avoids the question of whether caste discrimination based on untouchability is a form of national origin or racial discrimination. This approach draws on the Supreme Court’s recognition that the “but-for” causation standard applies under both Title VII and Section 1981. The but-for test directs us to change one thing at a time and see if the outcome changes. If it does, we have found a but-for cause. And, multiple but-for causes can exist. Applying this approach to intentional employment discrimination against gays, lesbians or transgender individuals, the Supreme Court pointed out that such a person’s sex is inextricably intertwined with their other status. The Court concluded that discrimination against a person because they are gay, lesbian or transgender means that you are discriminating against such a person based on that status, which is not protected, and their sex, which is. Thus, under the Bostock approach, because all of those who are victims of caste discrimination based on untouchability are from Asia, their caste is inextricably intertwined with their race. As a result, when Dalits are victims of intentional discrimination based on untouchabilty, the discriminator is motivated to discriminate against them because of their caste, which is not a protected trait, and their race, which is. Thus, intentional caste discrimination inevitably also involves race discrimination under both Title VII and Section 1981

Defining “Science-based Targets”

The term “science-based targets” has gained recent popularity. It is used to refer both to overall science-based targets (established through intergovernmental treaties), and to their disaggregation into specific science-based targets (determining contributions of individual actors). Biophysical achievability, measurability, and underpinning rationale are requirements for considering a target to be “science-based”