Box 15. Addressing Caste Discrimination in Development According to independent experts of the UN human rights bodies, caste discrimination is any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on inherited status such as work and descent, commonly originating from a division of society into castes or social categories. This status is associated with the notion of impurity, pollution and practices of ‘untouchability’. It is estimated to affect 260 million people worldwide, many of which are found in South Asia (where the Targeted intervention through affirmative action for the excluded: This is another approach that UNDP projects have adopted to ensure that resources reach out to the poor, the Dalits, women and Janajatis. Most UNDP projects in Nepal that are funding community development activities through the local government have earmarked a specific proportion of project resources for excluded groups like Dalits and women. For example, in the Decentralized Finance and Development Programme, 30% of project funds are for women and Dalits. The Decentralized Local Governance Support Programme (DLGSP) has a pro-poor policy to promote active participation of women, the poorest of the poor, and the disadvantaged ethnic groups in community organizations and to have 70% of Local Development Fund (supported by DLGSP) to be allocated to disadvantaged groups. The Community Owned Primary Education (COPE) programme (closed in July 2007) had a policy of hiring only female teachers in community schools it supported in rural Nepal. Moreover, Rural Urban Partnership Programme (RUPP) has a special programme called Rural Labour Linkages (RLL), which provides support for persons willing to undertake a traditional enterprise related to their affected group typically self-identifies as ‘Dalits’) but also reportedly in parts of Africa and among diaspora groups. In 2009, the UN Human Rights Council published a set of Draft UN Principles and Guidelines for the Effective Elimination of Discrimination based on Work and Descent (this is UN terminology for caste-based discrimination). It provides a framework of measures for states, international agencies and private sector actors on how to address this form of discrimination. For the full Draft UN Principles and Guidelines please see: UN Doc. A/HRC/11/CRP.3 (18 May 2009). Further information is also available from, for example, the International Dalit Solidarity Network, www.idsn.org. “occupational castes”. Although theoretically this fund is not limited to those from the Dalit community who are engaged in traditional occupations such as tailoring, blacksmithing, shoemaking, hair cutting, and clay pot making, the beneficiaries of RLL have predominantly been from this community as they continue to be engaged in such “occupational caste” activities for livelihood. Providing options for the excluded: When specific communities or households cannot take advantage of provisions made available under a development project, options are provided to them to make sure that they are not excluded from benefitting from the project. For example, when it was realized that Dalit households who could not afford to pay for the electricity provided by a micro-hydro project under the Rural Energy Development Programme would remain excluded, they were provided with the option of having electricity through rechargeable batteries that could be recharged locally. UNDP Vietnam reports that under the direction of the government’s Committee on Ethnic Minority Areas (CEMA), a high priority has been given to targeted programmes for ethnic Chapter 5: Programming Opportunities and Relevant Strategies 83