Rights watchdogs fail to investigate violations

Despite existence of several commissions, none has the authority to take action against infringement of basic human ri

KARACHI:

For the protection of human rights, various official organizations are working in Sindh, among which the Sindh Human Rights Commission, Sindh Commission for the Status of Women and the Sindh Child Protection Authority are at the top. However, none of these have the authority to take direct action against human rights violations.

"There are so many government institutions working on human rights in Sindh, but despite this, many incidents of human rights violations are not taken notice of," claimed Advocate Sadruddin Jatoi, a human rights activist and a member of HRCP, who suggested that all human rights organizations run by the Sindh government should be merged into one organization to bolster their efficacy.

Although the Sindh Human Rights Commission has the authority to investigate the violation of human rights in the province, according to Chairperson Iqbal Dithu, the commission is a non-judicial body that does not have the authority to directly take action against anyone or implement any of its recommendations.

"In countries like Nepal and Malaysia, the Human Rights Commission has the authority to take direct action. There should be necessary amendments in the relevant law therefore, I am preparing a draft which will be sent to the Sindh government for approval. At the moment, the commission can only recommend action to the relevant authorities over the incidents reported," regretted Dithu.

It should be noted that the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) was established in 2013, with the aim of inquiring into complaints received regarding human rights violations and recommending necessary steps to the Government of Sindh. Apart from this, monitoring the human rights situation in the province and giving suggestions to the government by reviewing the prevailing laws and policies was also a part of the duties of the institution. Subsequent amendments further empowered the SHRC to review the condition of workers in the province's industries. However, despite this, the SHRC can still only make recommendations and suggestions to the Sindh government and legally it does not have the authority to take action or register a case against anyone on its own.

Meanwhile, a significant difference has also been found in the official and unofficial statistics related to human rights violations in the province. For instance, as per data obtained from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a non-governmental human rights organization,172 cases of rape were reported in 2023, which increased to 184 in 2024. However, according to the Sindh Human Rights Commission only 23 cases of rape were reported in 2024.

Asad Iqbal Butt, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, explained the primary reason behind such a big difference between the official and non-official data on human rights violations. "Government institutions operate through offices in a bureaucratic manner while non-governmental organizations collect data through fieldwork. Even the work of fact-finding related to human rights violations is not done in government institutions," claimed Butt, while talking to the Express Tribune at the Karachi Press Club.

It is also worth noting that the Sindh Commission for the Status of Women, a government body established for the protection of women's rights, has become virtually inactive since the past year due to the absence of a chairperson. Even though more than a year has passed since the tenure of the former Chairperson Nuzhat Shireen ended in September last year, no chairperson has been appointed in her place yet. The Women Development Department had called for applications in this regard, but no decision has been taken on the applications received so far.