Child rights body fails to start working for want of members

Rights ministry director says federating units have yet to send names despite repeated reminders

ISLAMABAD: Lack of nominations from provinces despite repeated reminders halted the process of functioning National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC).

"Every province is requested to submit nominations for chairperson, provincial members, child representatives and minority members but despite repeated reminders and personal follow up at chief secretary level, the ministry has not received names yet", said Ministry of Human Rights International Coordination Director General Hassan Mangi on Friday.

Few names were received from Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan but they did not meet the required criteria for the said post of the commission while Punjab had not given response in this regard yet, he told the state-run media.



"According to law, six members, one from each province, Islamabad Capital Territory and Federally Administered Areas, would be part of the commission for which we have sent letters and waiting for their nominations," said Mangi.

He informed that the paper work functioning of the commission had been completed and after receiving the names of members according to the criteria described in the law, the case would be forwarded to cabinet for approval.

The law described that six members shall also include two women and one from minorities, all having experience of not less than ten years of work in the field of child rights. Besides that, two children one boy and one girl not below age of 15 years should also be part of the commission.

He informed that the ministry had granted a time span of six month to draft rules and other documentary requirements of the commission, adding that they had completed all the work before time and now were waiting for names only.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2018.