Rights

Tribal/indigenous people are among the most marginalized, exploited and vulnerable groups in our society. Over the years, they have become a disadvantaged and neglected lot. They are also being increasingly displaced from their customary lands and deprived of their natural resources by various vested interests; as a consequence of their exclusion, they are also victims of human rights violations.

Persistent, and often increasing, inequalities is largely the result of ‘social exclusion’, whereby groups of people (based on their identity) are denied rights to fully participate in society, leading to material and other forms of deprivation. In recognition of this, UNICEF India has placed social inclusion as a central pillar in its current country programme, parallel with the theme of inclusive growth articulated in India’s 11th Five Year Plan. In lieu of this strategic understanding, UNICEF India has recognized that a broad-based analysis of lessons from NGO and other initiatives working in social development and towards reducing disparities and exclusion will contribute to furthering both, UNICEF’s own work in the area, as well as government policy and action.

UNDP has produced a calendar under the CDLG project. The calendar is designed to present the various roles of the Panchayat and the benefits of inclusive development facilitated through regular events like Gram Sabha. Each page of the calendar is talking about a particular aspect of development that can be established through an active and effective Panchayat system. The themes include Gender relations, Social Inclusion, Accountability and Transparency, local planning and development, Education, Employment, Health, utilities, Local resources, Capacity development, Needs assessment and CB&T interventions, and Monitoring and Impact Evaluation.

The report describes the breadth of Alliance India’s growing portfolio. It elaborates, in three sections, areas that Alliance has been working in – Gender, SRHR/HIV Integration for Key Populations, and Community-owned Responses to HIV in India.

Working in India since 1999, Concern Worldwide India set up a liaison office in Bhubaneswar, Orissa in 2002, which was the Priority State for its long-term development in India, to pave way for a poverty free country. The belief of the Concern that poverty can be alleviated only when issues of inequality and injustice are themselves addressed, is discussed in detail.