This was the crux of a consultative meeting of the national consultation on juvenile justice system in Pakistan, Unicef Child Protection Chief Sarah Coleman said United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice provides policy guidelines to treat child offenders.
She further said that being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Pakistan should take measures to meet these minimum standards in the juvenile justice system.
Law Ministry’s International Coordination Director General Muhammad Hassan Mangi assured that the ministry will make every effort to protect the best interest of children.
Barrister Munawar Iqbal Duggal highlighted the national and global practices to deal with the juvenile delinquents and identified the areas of improvement during the consultative process.
Professor Fateh Muhammad Burfat, chairman of the Sociology Department of the University of Karachi emphasised over the roles family and society play to prevent juvenile delinquency.
Advocate Aziz Nishtar proposed a diversion model to resolve criminal disputes through alternative dispute resolution whereas Barrister Salman Safdar said the existing Juvenile Justice Ordinance 2000, consisting of only 15 sections, does not cover many important aspects pertaining to child delinquencies, saying the ordinance needs to be improved.
Sharafat Ali Chaudhry, a legal expert on children’s rights for the law ministry said in light of recommendations suggested by participants of the consultative meeting, the ministry will draft an amended bill to improve the existing juvenile justice system to bring it at par with the constitutional requirements and international practices.
A three member bench of the Lahore High Court recently held that the justice ordinance 2000 had been introduced without requisite deliberation, adding that the ordinance was against the provisions of the constitution.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2014.
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