Safeguarding children from all forms of violence is a key priority area for the government said, the National Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Convener Member of National Assembly (MNA) Riaz Fatyana.
Talking about the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2020 and support by the government for the National Assembly Bill on Corporal Punishment, he said Pakistan's progress towards SDGs was satisfactory.
He said this while addressing a seminar on Covid-19 and Elimination of Violence against Children, organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) in the federal capital on Monday. It was aimed to create awareness about the rising trends of violence against children during the ongoing pandemic.
Fatyana acknowledged that unfortunately Pakistan had not delivered on its international and national commitments towards child rights. However, he said that the present government is striving to change this situation. National and provincial assemblies established SDGs Task Forces to oversee the progress on the goals, he added.
Special Group on Child Rights of National Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs Chairperson MNA Mehnaz Akbar Aziz highlighted the role and functions of the SDGs Special Committee and task force. She discussed in detail the progress of the SDGs, especially regarding SDGs 16.2.
She maintained that parliamentarians from different parties were supporting the government in the realisation of commitments under SDGs. All the parliamentarians and members of the Task Force are playing an active role in highlighting key issues and supporting the completion of various tasks, she added.
National Commission on Child Rights Chairperson Afshan Tehseen Bajwa told the participants that the Voluntary National Review (VNR) was a process through which countries assess and present progress made in achieving the global goals and the pledge to leave no one behind.
She stated that Pakistan's VNR was done in July of 2019 during high level political forum on SDGs, adding that improved legislation, institutional mechanisms, resource allocation, trained human resource and cross-sectoral partnerships were required to ensure complete survival, protection and development of our children.
SPARC Project Manager Khalil Ahmed Dogar mentioned that Pakistan was the first country to adopt SDGs 2030 agenda through a unanimous resolution of parliament. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure all indicators of SDGs are met, especially Goal 16.2 'Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions', he stressed.
Under target 16.2, the state should aim to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children, which has increased amid the pandemic, he expressed. He further mentioned the third six-monthly report launched by Sustainable Social Development Organisation, titled 'Tracking numbers', which noted that child abuse cases increased three times in the second half compared to the first half of the year.
He added that Punjab reported maximum cases of child abuse followed by Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The participants, including child rights activists and parliamentarians, agreed that there was a dire need to end violence against children in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2021.
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