The writer is a child rights activist and development practitioner with a Master’s in Human Rights from the London School of Economics. He tweets @amahmood72
Pakistan is a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and accordingly, the government submits periodic reports on the implementation of the UNCRC to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. The Committee considered Pakistan’s fifth periodic report at its meetings held in May and adopted concluding observations and recommendations at its meeting in June.
Being a child rights practitioner, I believe the Committee’s concluding observations clearly identified where the issues are and gave solid recommendations to resolve those issues. The recommendations carve a clear way forward for child rights in Pakistan and thus should be adopted as a five-year plan and implemented by the governments at federal and provincial levels, in coordination with UN agencies and civil society.
The Committee welcomed the ratification of the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as the adoption of a number of new acts and institutional and policy measures related to children’s rights. It recommended that the government promptly adopt pending bills in the area of children’s rights and ensure that they are in conformity with the Convention.
While welcoming the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, the Committee shared concerns about the difference between the minimum legal age for marriage of boys (18 years) and that of girls (16 years) in all other provinces and the definition of a girl child contained in the Zina and Hudood Ordinances (1979) — until 16 years or puberty — and legal inconsistencies concerning the definition of a child at federal, provincial and territorial levels and between secular and religious law.
The Committee recommended the full harmonisation of legislation so as to define a child as every human being below the age of 18. Concern was shown about the large numbers of children killed by acts of terrorism or violence as well as by counterterror measures, drought, malnutrition and lack of maternal and neonatal care in Tharparkar.
The Committee recommended increased security in schools and other areas that have a high concentration of children; the combating of malnutrition, especially among vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children, including Dalits; and the provision of easily accessible maternal and neonatal care facilities in remote areas.
Another area of concern was the birth registration rate of 30 per cent, with Balochistan and Fata having the lowest rates. The Committee strongly urged the government to take note of the Sustainable Development Goal on the provision of timely birth registration for all, particularly the marginalised, and the education of the public on the pitfalls of non-registration. Furthermore, it must be ensured that children lacking ID cards are not refused access to education, health and public services.
The provision of assistance and guidance to families of differently-abled children was also recommended. The Committee also recommended that priority be given to an inclusive system of education over specialised institutions for differently-abled children.
To reduce the neonatal mortality rate, as well as the mortality rate of children under the age of five, the Committee suggested an increased budgetary allocation for healthcare services in rural areas. Health services must include immunisation — particularly in Fata — and raise awareness about the importance of vaccinations. This would be a step in achieving the targets of 25 per 1,000 live births for children below the age five and 12 per 1,000 live births of neonates.
On the subject of juvenile justice, it was recommended that legislation be passed to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to internationally accepted levels. Inhumane punishments, including death sentences, meted out to those below the age of 18 must be prohibited. Alternatives must be sought, such as probation, counselling or community service.
Detention should be the last resort and for the shortest period of time possible. The Juvenile Justice System Ordinance of 2000 must prevail over all other laws on this subject. The Committee also recommended that the government take all appropriate measures to ensure that the recommendations contained in the concluding observations are fully implemented and be made widely available in the various languages of the country.
The above are just a few of the 87 recommendations made to the government for improving the state of child rights in the country. The government has five years for their implementation but for the work for this must start now if we want to protect the rights of our future generations.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2016.
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