A/HRC/31/56 23. Following an analysis of the information received, she further considers that caste and analogous forms of discrimination are a major cause of poverty and perpetuate poverty in affected communities. As stressed previously,7 the relationship between inequality, discrimination and poverty and their impact on disadvantaged minority groups cannot be ignored or underestimated. Targeted attention to the situation of the poorest and most socially and economically excluded and marginalized communities is essential to break the vicious cycle of discrimination, exclusion, poverty and underdevelopment. 24. Research on caste-based discrimination outside the South Asian context is underdeveloped and the lack of official, up-to-date and disaggregated data poses additional difficulties in terms of providing a comprehensive overview of the issue. Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur considers that devoting a thematic report to this particular topic is necessary, given that discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status constitutes a serious violation of human rights and deserves specific attention. She hopes that the present report will serve as an incentive to stimulate further and more in-depth research and investigation into caste-based discrimination around the globe. B. Definition and characteristics of caste-based discrimination 25. Discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status refers to a form of discrimination based on descent.8 Because one’s caste can be determinative of one’s occupation, it is also referred to as “discrimination based on work and descent” and defined as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on inherited status such as caste, including present or ancestral occupation, family, community or social origin, name, birthplace, place of residence, dialect and accent that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”. 26. The term “caste” refers to a strict hierarchical social system that is often based on the notions of purity and pollution, in which individuals placed at the bottom of the system may face exclusion and discrimination in a wide range of areas. The concept of “caste system” is primarily associated with the South Asian region, where its existence is linked to the religiously sanctioned social structure of Hinduism, which identified four original and endogamous groups, or castes, called varnas. 27. At present, the term “caste” has broadened in meaning, transcending religious affiliation. Caste and caste-like systems may be based on either a religious or a secular background and can be found within diverse religious and/or ethnic groups in all geographical regions, including within diaspora communities. 28. Caste and analogous systems present distinguishing characteristics: (a) Hereditary nature: caste status is inherited by birth and follows the individual until death; (b) Labour stratification and occupational segregation: caste status determines and is confined to certain occupations, which are compulsory and endogenous. Individuals from lower-caste strata are traditionally assigned to tasks deemed “polluting” or menial by higher 7 8 6 See A/HRC/25/56, para. 31. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 29 (2002) on article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent).