Dalit woman from Kolar becomes first Asian to be appointed UNHRC special rapporteur

Team Udayavani, Oct 19, 2022, 11:39 AM IST

Image Source: https://idsn.org/ {Dr Ashwini KP (Middle) participating in IDSN delegation in 2014}

Dr K P Ashwini from Karnataka’s Kolar has been appointed as a special rapporteur (SR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Apart from Dr Ashwini, two other people — Joshua Castellino from India and Botswana’s Unity Dow — were being considered for the post. Notably, Dr Ashwini is the first Asian and the first Indian to be appointed SR to the UNHRC. All her predecessors have been from Africa.

The UNHRC posted a tweet on their official handle informing about the appointment of Dr Ashwini as the new Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

At #HRC51, the Human Rights Council has appointed Ms. Ashwini K.P. of #India as the new Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. pic.twitter.com/xC3Rb1Efw0

— UN Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) October 7, 2022

Dr Ashwini’s tenure will begin on November 1.

Born into a Dalit family, Dr Ashwini has obtained MPhil and PhD from JNU, Delhi. She has also served as a professor at Saint Joseph’s College, Bengaluru.

With media inputs