Who We Are

 The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFOD) is the global coordination and engagement mechanism for the Stakeholder Group of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (SG CDWD). Both were founded in 2021 and formally recognize the core motto of ‘Leave No One Behind’ propounded by Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which ensures Planet, Peace and Prosperity for all, especially those who are marginalized through generations and suffered social prejudices for life of dignity and peace.

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SG CDWD is comprised of communities discriminated on work and descent, who are some of the most excluded, segregated, and marginalized groups at the global and local level within their social, economic, political, and cultural systems. The consequences of this marginalization are the deprivation and systematic exclusion from education, health, access to water and sanitation, employment, voting rights, equal access to land and housing, access to religious institutions in the public sphere. The types of social structures have created systemic violence for centuries on DWD communities as heterogeneous as the Haratine in the Sahel; Forgeron in West Africa; Bantu in Sudan; Roma in Europe; Burakumin in Japan, and Dalits (formerly known as ‘untouchables’) in South Asia; Quilombo and Palenque South America. 

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The global coverage of DWD communities includes Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America regions with around 260 million people.

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The SG CDWD aims to enhance the opportunity for DWD communities, their representative organizations, and non-governmental and other organizations working on the rights of DWD communities to advocate with a unified voice for their inclusion in all sustainable development related UN processes.

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The SG CDWD envisions a democratic, inclusive and just society that is free from all forms of discriminations on work and descent (DWD) with regard to access to development, justice delivery, environment protection and disaster mitigation measures. This includes the planning, design, implementation, monitoring, review and evaluation of sustainable development policies at all levels– local, national, regional and international.

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The SG CDWD comprises several self-governing organizations united by a central structure and shared values, vision, and mission. The values of the SG CDWD are as follow: 

1. RESPECT AND DIGNITY, thereby treating one another as equals, with mutual trust, respect, and recognizing the inherent dignity and worth of all people and the value of diversity; 

2. EQUITY AND JUSTICE, requiring members to work so as to ensure equal opportunity in all fields of development and justice delivery for the benefit of DWD communities globally, irrespective of location, gender, sexuality, caste, ethnicity, religion, class or status;

3. FREEDOM that ensures the absence of all forms of internal and external control and obstructions so that the DWD communities can exercise their right to act as subjects in matters concerning their thought, speech, movement, association, occupation, and decision making;

4. NON-DISCRIMINATION, to ensure that all processes and spaces for representation are decided without any discrimination based on gender, sexuality, age, religion, location, caste/ethnicity, class or status;

5. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, being accountable at all levels for the effectiveness of their actions and open in their judgements and communications with all stakeholders;

6. GENDER JUSTICE, to promote gender equality by removing any barriers that prevent full participation of women in the public and political life;

7. SOLIDARITY WITH DWD communities requiring our commitment to fight against discrimination based on work and descent, including caste, anti-gypsyism, traditional and modern forms of slavery. 

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Partners

Our partners represent around 260 million people belonging to the DWD communities across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. 

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