Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10. On this day in 1948, the UN General Assembly had adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Observing the day this year under the theme ‘The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, the UN has launched a year-long campaign to showcase the UDHR, focusing on its legacy, relevance and activism.
The Government of Pakistan is party to seven out of nine core international human rights treaties, most of which were ratified with Pakistan Peoples Party at the helm. PPP has historically demonstrated a profound commitment to international human rights norms and mechanisms on account of its founding ideals and core values premised in the protection of democratisation and upholding of human rights.
Pakistan became party to Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 under the premiership of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Similarly, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was ratified in 1996 during her second stint as PM. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was ratified by the PPP-led government in 2011 when Asif Ali Zardari was serving as the President of Pakistan.
Similarly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment were ratified in 2008 and 2010 in the times of PPP government. In addition, Pakistan became party to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2011 under the PPP-led government.
Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), a trade incentive package, coupled with the conditionality of ratification and implementation of 27 international treaties including human rights conventions was granted to Pakistan in 2014. However, the solid ground in this regard — in preparatory phase of the application demanding extraordinary diplomatic and political acumen, skills and efforts with the EU community — had actually been made by PPP government of 2008-13.
Moreover, with the GSP+ expiring in 2023, the EU Parliament and Council are set to finalise the new GSP scheme early next year. Pakistan’s Foreign Office, under the leadership of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has actively been engaged with international community to create an enabling environment for Pakistan to successfully acquire the new GSP scheme. As Foreign Minister, Bilawal has already exhibited his abilities to engage with world leaders to have Pakistan removed from FATF grey list this year.
At national and provincial level, PPP has vigorously supported development of a set of human rights norms and mechanisms in the country. Most importantly, the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, passed by the legislatures under the leadership of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, provides for a set of fundamental rights (Article 8 to 28).
Also, the present PPP-led Government of Sindh has made very progressive laws on human rights of women, children, religious minorities, peasants, agricultural workers, and differently-abled persons in the province.
The major laws enacted by the Government of Sindh include Sindh Senior Citizens Welfare Act, 2014; Sindh Differently Abled Persons (Employment, Rehabilitation and Welfare) Act, 2014; Sindh Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, 2015; Sindh Hindus Marriage Act, 2016; Sindh Hindu Marriage Amendment Act, 2018; Sindh Empowerment of ‘Persons with Disabilities’ Act, 2018; Sindh Prisons and Corrections Services Act, 2019; Sindh Child Protection Authority Act (SCPAA), 2011; Sindh Protection of Human Rights Act, 2011; Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Act (SCSWA), 2015; Sindh Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013; and Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013.
The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013 progressively covers not only women but all the vulnerable persons in its purview. The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013 and the Sindh Hindu Marriage (Amendment) Act 2018 penalise marriage below the age of 18 for both male and female — be it Muslim or Hindu. The police in Sindh have increasingly been trained on the legal framework governing rights of the vulnerable groups including Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013 and Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013. As a result, the police have registered many cases under the said laws and prevented many child marriages.
Government of Sindh has recently formed Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Practitioners established under section 8 of Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act, 2021 empowered to take suo motu notice of any attack on a journalist or media practitioner. Similarly, the government has formed Provincial Advisory Council for Empowerment of Disabilities in Sindh.
Sindh government’s Human Rights Department has taken a range of initiatives for promotion and protection of human rights in the province. Department’s Human Rights Vigilance Committee has conducted fact-finding reports on human rights issues, including the recent lynching of two employees of a telecom company in Machhar Colony, Karachi.
Treaty Implementation Cell of Human Rights Department has been holding regular meetings with its member departments to create compliance with GSP+ reporting requirements. A Provincial Action Plan on GSP+ has been prepared and shared with the TIC member departments. The plan — a first in Pakistan and a precedent for other provinces — enlists a range of actions for TIC member departments to be achieved. Significantly, this plan can potentially feed into the national level action plan the Government of Pakistan is supposed to prepare and submit along with an application to the EU for new GSP scheme beyond 2023.
With human rights norms evolving world over, PPP is committed to continue supporting human rights in the areas of promotion, protection and fulfillment in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2022.
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