This side event highlights how Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD), including caste-affected and analogous communities, continue to face systemic exclusion that hinders progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 6, 11, and 17. These communities often experience unequal access to water, sanitation, housing, infrastructure, and participation in governance due to inherited status, occupational stigma, and discriminatory social systems.
The event aims to promote transformative, inclusive, and coordinated policy actions by recognizing work and descent-based discrimination as a critical development issue. It seeks to strengthen partnerships among governments, UN entities, civil society, and affected communities, while emphasizing gender-responsive and youth-led approaches. Discussions will focus on structural barriers, data gaps, inclusive urban planning, and community-led solutions to ensure no one is left behind in SDG implementation.
