Progress made: Children in Sindh inch closer to rights protection authority

Minister admits plan was delayed due to lack of interest among govt officials.

KARACHI:

The long-awaited Sindh Child Protection Authority will be made operational in a few days as social activists and the social welfare ministry have inched closer to finalising its rules and regulations.

The provincial minister for social welfare, women development and special education, Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani told The Express Tribune that the authority has been notified and will soon be made functional. “We are in the last stage of finalising the terms of reference, rules and regulations under which the mechanism will operate.”

The authority will be headed by the minister herself, and will include two member parliamentarians, lawyers, social activists, as well as representatives of other departments involved in children’s issues. “This was supposed to be formed a long time ago under the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act which was passed in 2011,” she admitted, adding that the plan fell back due to a lack of interest among government officials.



Qaimkhani hoped the authority will bring changes in the way children’s issues are dealt with in the society and will highlight issues faced by them, especially those working as domestic workers.

The authority will oversee and establish child protection units at district levels that will work partially. Protection officers will also be appointed to deal with children’s issues. They will also be monitoring violence cases that arise in their areas.

In a meeting held between the minister and social activists last week, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc)’s Abdullah Langah shared the suggestions put forward by them. “We feel that there is an absence of coordination among government departments in the formation of the authority and advised that health, education and other departments should all be brought together on the same page.”

Another activist and lawyer, Zia Awan, called for police involvement in the authority so that cases can be referred to them directly. The activists also said that the authority should not only look towards child protections but also work for their rights. “The authority will generate funds from outside sources, including NGOs, but we want a permanent solution for funds, and a separate budget should be especially allocated for it,” said Awan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2014.