Call for revitalising rights commission

The Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA) jointly organised a conference on Thursday to discuss the challenges faced by the national and subnational human rights institutions in Pakistan.

National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW), National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), Sindh Commission on Status of Women (SCSW) and Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) were represented in the conference. The participants identified a set of legal measures to ensure the continuity and sustainability of institutions mandated to protect the rights of weak and marginalised Current and former leadership of rights-based commissions, ex-parliamentarians, representatives of federal and provincial governments and human rights defenders from civil society, legal fraternity and academia attended the meet.

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Speakers called for making all the commissions established in the country functional, truly independent and effective for them to comply with the Paris Principles, 1993, which laid foundations for independent commissions to oversee human rights situation, as well as the Pakistan’s constitution and the laws governing these institutions. They particularly called for removing legal ambiguities, curbing executives’ interference and political influence on the selection of chairpersons and members of the commissions due to which many commissions have become dysfunctional or are on the verge of being dysfunctional.

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SHRC Chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho highlighted the need to understand the historical context, efficacy, and obstacles faced by these human rights institutions. NCHR former chairperson Shafiq Chaudhary said the legal frameworks governing institutions are not in sync with the letter and spirit of international law, which need to be fixed.

Nuzhat Shirin, Chairperson SCSW shared her concerns over the legal ambiguity that leads to discontinuation of functioning of commissions after a term of members and chairpersons ends. Khawaja Imran Raza, Secretary NCSW said that collaboration and cooperation among commission and with civil society institutions is crucial for these institutions to deliver on their mandate.