Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

disabilities and therefore help the Indian government better target their needs. In
Jordan, we supported a project to enhance the capacity of the Higher Council for the
Affairs of Persons with Disabilities to set and monitor professional standards for
disability services. In 2010 we also funded a one-year project by the Mental
Disability Advocacy Center to develop practical guidelines for governments on
establishing and bolstering the effectiveness of independent national bodies to
monitor the implementation of the UN convention. These guidelines will help to
ensure that countries which have ratified the convention establish the necessary
mechanisms to promote, protect and monitor its implementation. Currently only a
handful of states, including the UK, have officially designated their monitoring body.
Indigenous rights
The Government works through the UN, EU and our embassies to improve the
situation of indigenous people internationally, including by giving political support to
indigenous issues and communities around the world. In Guatemala, our Embassy
is a member of the EU Filter Group on Human Rights, whose role includes promoting
and protecting the rights of members of indigenous communities. In Peru we funded
a project through a local organisation, Instituto de Defensa Legal, to investigate and
seek justice for women subjected to sexual violence during the internal armed
conflict from 1980 to 2000, the majority of whom were from the indigenous Quechuaspeaking
communities of the Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Apurimac regions. In
Malaysia, as part of the EU’s year of work to promote the rights of indigenous
people, embassy officials visited several indigenous communities to discuss rights,
religious conversion, language and education.
Dalits
The UK works with foreign governments to promote the inclusion of Dalits into
society and to support the efforts of civil society and NGOs in raising awareness of
the situation of Dalits worldwide.
In India, Dalits have historically been at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. The
Indian constitution (1950) abolished discrimination on the basis of caste and contains
provisions to reserve public sector jobs and places in education for Dalits. There are
also many successful people in India from the Dalit community. Nevertheless, many
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