‘Better laws, better enforcement needed’

Only 7 out of 36 districts benefitting from initiatives.

LAHORE:

Child rights activists say that there are “gaps” in the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004, which need to be addressed.

Their main concerns are that the law is not being enforced in 29 districts and the way the Act defines a child.

The law deals with the rescue, protection and rehabilitation of destitute children. While in theory it extends to the whole province the activists say practically it is currently being implemented only in areas where the Child Protection Bureau has units.

Rashid Aziz, national manager of Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child’s legal advisory unit, said that limiting the jurisdiction of the law contradicted the objectives of enactment.

“Sub-section 3 of Section 1 says it the law extends to all [36] districts,” he said. Aziz said that they had asked the Child Protection Bureau to provide a copy of the notification that listed areas of its jurisdiction but the bureau had not done so. Ulfat Abbas, a Child Protection Bureau assistant director, said that even though the CPB had offices in seven districts, they had jurisdiction in all of the Punjab.

Abbas said that the bureau was working under the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act.

He said that about 40, 000 children had been helped by the bureau from 2005 to 2011. “Currently there are 600 children in different branches of the bureau, said Abbas.

Another issue of concern is that the Act defines a child as someone under the age of 15.

“Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, under which a child is defined as an individual under the age of 18,” said Ahmer Majeed, Sanjog director.

He said that the law needed to be amended and the terms ‘neglected’ and ‘destitute’ needed to be redefined. Currently, the law protects children who beg, are forced into prostitution and are abused, Majeed said, adding that more categories needed to be included. “What about the disabled and victims of child trafficking?” Rashid Aziz from SPARC said.

Ulfat Abbas, of the Child Protection Bureau, said that the bureau could protect children until the age of 18 by requesting interim custody of the child. Abbas said the bureau had started awareness programmes in other districts, “This year we will start operating in Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2012.