CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to human rights; including protections against discrimination based on an individual's caste; making technical amendments; and amending Sections 3.14.910, 3.14.931, 3.110.260, 4.80.020, 5.30.020, 6.02.270, 6.202.230, 14.04.020, 14.04.030, 14.04.040, 14.06.020, 14.06.030, 14.08.015, 14.08.020, 14.08.045, 14.08.070, 14.08.190, 14.10.010, 14.10.020, 14.11.020, and 18.12.280 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, caste is a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion; and
WHEREAS, caste discrimination is based on birth and descent, and occurs in the form of social segregation, physical and psychological abuse, and violence; and
WHEREAS, caste discrimination manifests in employment, education, and housing; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues stated that at least 250 million people worldwide still face "appalling and dehumanizing discrimination based on caste and similar systems of inherited status," and during a presentation of the first comprehensive report on caste-based discrimination in 2016 to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Rapporteur described caste-based discrimination as "a global problem," and that "caste-based discrimination and violence goes against the basic principles of universal human dignity and equality, as it differentiates between 'inferior' and 'superior' categories of individuals, which is unacceptable"; and
WHEREAS, the majority of the affected communities live in or originate from South Asia, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where many are known by the self-chosen identity of "Dalits," which means "those who have been broken but are resilient" and others are indigenous or indentured community members; and
WHEREAS, similarly affected groups are also found ...
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