A/HRC/15/55* F. Dalits 75. The independent expert is concerned about discrimination against sweepers, who are predominantly Dalits. This occupation has been passed down through the generations; although non-Dalits are starting to take the job of sweeper, however, traditional sweepers are resisting this trend, because they claim they are not eligible for other jobs. The work of the sweeper is to clean out sewers and septic tanks. They are employed by the municipality and private employers. In rural areas, the job of sweepers is akin to manual scavenging, which is the process of cleaning out dry toilets manually. In Dhaka and other areas, where sewerage and septic tanks are used, the job is to clear blocked pipes and empty septic tanks. In both cases, the workers have no protective gear and are subjected to considerable health risks. They reportedly suffer from diarrheal diseases and dysentery. One woman explained that the men need to get drunk to be able to bear this work. 76. Sweepers are also subjected to discrimination in the community. The children of sweepers are reportedly ostracized by teachers at school, and feel forced to hide their origins. The independent expert visited a community of sweepers and saw that they had no access to water or safe sanitation. They used a hanging latrine, which emptied out directly into a passing stream. In another Dalit slum, two water points reportedly served 12,000 people. The women and girls have to carry the water up several flights of stairs, which poses a serious threat to their physical well-being. In addition, the women’s toilets had a hole in the ceiling where boys watched the girls, depriving them of all privacy. The toilets were in a deplorable state, with faeces covering the entire area. Most Dalits live in rural areas, where they reportedly face similar problems of inadequate housing and the constant threat of eviction.27 VI. Extreme poverty and social protection28 77. Over recent decades, Bangladesh has achieved significant improvements in economic and social indicators. Despite the progress made, however, poverty is still widespread and socio-economic disparities have increased. Around 40 per cent of the population is still poor, at least 25 per cent of which lives in extreme poverty. Since her thematic work focuses on social protection systems as both a human right and a means for addressing extreme poverty, the independent expert examines, in the sections below, social protection measures in Bangladesh, paying particular attention to social assistance programmes and the enforcement of labour standards. A. Social protection 78. A large number of social protection programmes have been introduced in recent decades. These programmes are in line with article 15 of the Constitution, which recognizes the duty of the State to secure the right to social security, understood as “public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases”. 79. In the National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction II for the period 2009– 2011, social protection programmes are divided into five areas: social safety-net programmes; food security; disaster management; microcredit; and rural non-farm 27 28 GE.10-15451 Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, op. cit., pp. 48–49. The present chapter was prepared by the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty. 19