Why Global Forum on Discrimination on Work and Descent matters
Over 270 million people around the world continue to face discrimination—not for what they’ve done, but for who they were born as. Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD)—including Dalits, Burakumin, Haratine, Osu, Roma, Quilombola, and others—have been historically treated as “impure.” Entire generations have been relegated to so-called “polluting” jobs: manual scavenging, leather work, […]
Want to know more about Africa CDWD? Use this factsheet!
A comprehensive new report titled CDWD in Africa Factsheet highlights the continued exclusion and marginalisation of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) across five African nations—The Gambia, Mauritania, Niger, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Drawing on data compiled by researchers affiliated with the Global Forum on CDWD, the report exposes severe gaps in health, gender equality, […]
Towards an Informal Working Group on the the Rights of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent
Statement by the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) HLPF 2024, United Nations, New York Speaking at the HLPF 2024 side event titled “Good Practices and Challenges in the 2030 Agenda – Showcasing ongoing inclusive strategies of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent,” Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives from Canada, Spain, Colombia, North Macedonia, Nepal, Sri Lanka […]
CDWD’s Simona Torotcoi addresses HLPF on how science & tech can empower community
Distinguished delegates, my name is Simona Torotcoi, I am a Roma from Romania from ERGO Network, and I am part of the Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, experiencing similar forms of discrimination with the Quilambola and Palenque in Brazil and Colombia, the Roma in Europe, the Dalits in South Asia, the Haratins and others in Africa. Such exclusions are found […]
2024 was a seminal year for discriminated communities across the world: Now, we need your help to sustain the momentum
In October 2024, something historic happened. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) passed a landmark resolution that explicitly recognised and condemned discrimination based on descent and work. For Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD), it wasn’t just a legal breakthrough—it was a long-overdue affirmation of their lived reality. A shift that […]
The ECOSOC President just congratulated us on our work: Will you help us continue it?
At the 4th meeting of the 2025 United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, held on 15th June, Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) youth leader Naveen Gautam delivered a powerful and deeply moving intervention as the Lead Discussant during a session focused on accelerating SDG achievement in African countries, Least Developed […]
Erased Twice Over: UN Paper Highlights Urgent Reforms for Women Facing Descent-Based Discrimination
A landmark policy paper released in July 2025 by UN Women, in collaboration with the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD), casts a spotlight on the urgent need for intersectional rights-based approaches to combat structural discrimination faced by women from Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD). These communities, estimated to […]
Born Unequal: The Silent Power of Descent in Shaping Our Lives
Imagine being told, without words, that your future was decided before you were born. No matter how hard you study, how much you dream, or how many borders you cross, society has already decided a place for you, and it’s somewhere below them. This is the lived reality for millions across the world who are […]
