WRITTEN QUESTION P-0020/03 by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission. Caste-based discrimination in India.
Date: 2003-01-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, India, aid policy, anti-discriminatory measure, social structure

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/585

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 August 2003)

Further to its first answer, the Commission is now able to provide the following information. Following an
initial examination of the case, the Commission decided on 9 July 2003 to initiate a formal examination
procedure within the meaning of Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty with regard to France’s contributions to the
national intertrade association for livestock and meat.

The Honourable Member is requested to take note of the details of that procedure when they are published
shortly in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Commission will endeavour to take a decision
within 18 months of the start of the procedure, and will inform the Honourable Member of the final
outcome of its examination.

(2004/C 88 E/0598)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0020/03

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(10 January 2003)

Subject: Caste-based discrimination in India

Dalits, formerly called untouchables, suffer from every conceivable form of discrimination. They are classed
as below the lowest group of the social caste system in India and are not allowed to live with, marry or
even drink the same water as those born into high-caste families. On 10 October 2002 at the third EU-
India Summit, the EU issued a declaration with India, affirming a mutual commitment to strengthening
human rights and to maintaining continual bilateral dialogue on the issue. Just days after this declaration,
five Dalits were beaten to death by upper-caste locals for skinning dead cows (something which they do to
earn a living) due to a rumour that they had illegally slaughtered the animals. This incident exemplifies the
caste tensions and continuing caste discrimination that characterise life in rural India.

What specific measures does the EU envisage taking in bringing pressure to bear on the Indian authorities
to stop the widespread discrimination and repression suffered by India’s repressed castes?

Does the Commission agree that discussion in the EU should be more strongly promoted in order to
sufficiently address the issue of caste-based and related forms of discrimination, and what steps are likely to
be taken towards this?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2003)

The Commission is aware of the many cases of caste discrimination that, regrettably, still persist in modern
India. Nevertheless, important progress has been made. For example, India’s most populous state (Uttar
Pradesh) has a female Dalit as Chief Minister, something that would have been inconceivable not too long
ago.

As the Honourable Member rightly points out, the joint Press Statement at the 2002 Union-India Summit
in Copenhagen reiterates the firm commitment by both partners to maintain a dialogue on human rights.
This endeavour is already followed up in all high level meetings between the Union and India.

It should, however, be remembered that India is a democracy governed under the rule of law and that the
press is free and active. The internal debate is the most important vehicle for change in this area.
Furthermore, India has the world’s largest and oldest affirmative action programme. Not only are jobs in
government or places at university reserved for the people on the basis of their caste, but also 85 out of
535 seats in parliament are reserved for Dalits.

C 88 E/586

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

the Commission funds numerous projects in India under the
From a more pragmatic perspective,
European Initiative for Human Rights and Democracy, with several of them targeting Dalit and other
disenfranchised communities.

the Commission contributes

Furthermore,
to India’s education system with a major grant of
EUR 200 million. The Commission firmly believes that by assisting India to reach its Millennium
Development Goal of achieving universal elementary education, with a special focus on the ‘hard to reach’
such as children from Dalit and tribal backgrounds, Dalits will ultimately have better chances to fulfil
positions in Indian society at all levels.

(2004/C 88 E/0599)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0079/03

by Margot Keßler (PSE) to the Commission

(23 January 2003)

Subject: The situation of people with mental disabilities in applicant countries

According to the European Association of Societies of Persons with Intellectual Disability and their
Families, known as Inclusion Europe for short, the situation of people with mental disabilities in many of
the future EU Member States is a cause for concern. Whereas the situation of children with mental
disabilities has in some areas improved since 1989, this is unfortunately not the case for adults. Amnesty
International’s report of October 2002, ‘Bulgaria: Far from the eyes of society. Systematic discrimination
against people with mental disabilities’, outlines the situation in Bulgaria as an example. The lives of people
with mental disabilities remain in many cases characterised by isolation, denial of any privacy, and
inadequate care.

The Commission:

1. How does it intend to react to the violations of human rights that continue to be suffered by people

with mental disabilities in applicant countries?

2. Does it see a particular need to act to improve the situation of people with mental disabilities in the

future Member States?

3.

If so, what form does it think such an improvement would take?

4. How does it intend to raise awareness of the problem, not just among the public, but also among the

governments of the future Member States?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(28 February 2003)

The rights of the people with intellectual disabilities are human rights which the Commission takes very
seriously. Therefore the Commission monitored the situation with regard to people with disabilities in the
Candidate Countries through the annual Regular Reports on the progress of each Candidate Country
towards accession.

More specifically the situation with regard to people with disabilities was assessed in the 2002 Regular
Reports adopted by the Commission on 9 October 2002 (1) for Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. In most of the cases,
the need for further substantial progress has been underlined.

In its recently adopted Communication on ‘Towards a United Nations legally-binding instrument to
promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities’ (2), the Commission sets out its full
support for the elaboration of such instrument and states that ‘even if there is no doubt that general
human rights standards apply to people with disabilities, there is widespread evidence that they face lack of
equal effective enjoyment of their rights’. It notes that while this situation has been highlighted in the
international context, it is also mirrored in European countries.