There is the need on the part of the government of K-P to ensure the implementation of child protection law
PESHAWAR: This is with reference to a well-articulated article by Arshad Mahmood “Prioritising child rights” (May 11). If we study the arena of child protection, Pakistan has a long-standing history. Article 35 of the Constitution provides that the state shall protect the child. Article 25 (3) also empowers the state to make special provisions for protection of children. Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on November 12, 1990, which provides broader outlines for the promotion and protection of child rights. Every person below the age of 18 years is a child under the UNCRC. Almost 50 per cent of the total population of the country consists of children below the age of 18. The UNCRC made it mandatory on the states which ratify the Convention to take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has an inclusive child protection law under the name the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act of 2010. The aim of the Act is to provide for the care, protection, maintenance, welfare, training, education, rehabilitation and reintegration of children at risk in the province. The purview of this law has been extended to children of the age of 18 years. The other important provision of the law is to establish the K-P Child Protection and Welfare Commission, which will be the focal point for the supervision and coordination of child rights matters. It will have the power to implement policies, and review laws along with proposing new laws for child-related matters. The other components of child protection administrative structure are the Child Protection Units and Child Protection Institutions that will be established and managed by the Commission.
There is, however, the need on the part of the government of K-P to ensure the implementation of this child protection law, which is perhaps the most comprehensive law of its kind in the province. Adequate budgetary allocations is a key component that is missing and only a grant of Rs10 million has been allocated every year since 2011 when the K-P Child Protection and Welfare Commission (KPCPW) was established. K-P should allocate enough resources to establish the child protection system across all 25 districts. Approximately, one per cent of the provincial budget will be enough for a strong child protection system in the province. Child-friendly preventive and responsive services are missing except in a few districts where Child Protection Units have been established with donor support. A child protection workforce is also missing, except in 10 districts where donors support it. Robust data on child protection issues could be ensured only if the KPCPWC is active and has been provided with the necessary human and financial resources.
As mentioned by Mr Mahmood in the said article, there is a dire need to create widespread awareness of child-related laws among stakeholders, as well as the enforcers of the criminal justice system, particularly the police, the judiciary and lawyers. Civil society and the media must also be brought into the loop. I hope that an open analysis of the above points by the K-P government will help put some focus on child protection in the province with a few practical steps, including budgetary allocations to establish and strengthen child protection systems. Only then will K-P be in a position to claim that it has taken solid steps to protect children at risk in the province.
Imran Takkar
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2016.
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