Capital child protection bill sails through Senate panel

Human rights committee approves four bills on child and women rights

ISLAMABAD : Months after a sitting district judge of the capital and his spouse were convicted of torturing and illegally detaining a child maid in their home, a Senate panel on Wednesday approved a bill which seeks to protect children in the city.

The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights met at the Parliament House on Wednesday and considered four bills, including the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Bill 2018, Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Bill 2017, Juvenile Justice System Bill 2018, and the Criminal Law (Amendment), Bill 2018, which had been passed by the National Assembly.

The committee’s chairman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar observed that incidents of child abuse have raised many eyebrows in the past and that there was a dire need for legislation to keep a check on the child abuse in the federal capital.

The secretary for the human rights ministry said that the child protection bill aims to protect children from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect in compliance with constitutional provisions and international obligations of the country.

She said that all the provinces have their respective child protection laws but the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), being a federal territory, requires separate legislation to protect children.

“There is no legal mechanism at the ICT-level to protect the rights of the children,” she said. The committee subsequently approved the bill after seeking detailed information on it from the ministry.

While considering the women in distress and detention fund bill, the committee was told that the fund had been set up in 1996. In the 22 years since its board of governors has failed to hold a single meeting.

This information shocked the committee members.

The ministry further said that the size of the board was too large which made it difficult to convene a meeting; however, through this amendment the size of the BOG has been reduced to a reasonable number for its smooth functioning. The committee unanimously approved the bill.

The panel also approved the juvenile justice system law which provides a mechanism for juvenile justice.

The interior ministry said that the law seeks to increase punishment for cases relating to sexual abuse of children and child porn by imposing heavy fines, was also approved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2018.