Senate proceedings: Treaty on disappearances deferred

Move comes amid divided opinion among senators.

ISLAMABAD:

Conflicting views of government representatives over an international treaty on enforced disappearances led to the proposal of its ratification in the Senate being deferred till a consensus is evolved on the issue.

A proposal for the ratification of International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED) was first moved by presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar. It was, however, deferred by Chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari on Monday after divergent statements from lawmakers.

Babar urged the unanimous passage of the resolution from the upper house and termed the issue of enforced disappearances a “menace and violation of human rights.”

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Malik Ammad opposed the move saying “the scope of the convention on enforced disappearances is quite wide, and without proper consultation could prove itself to be a double-edged sword for Pakistan. There should be an inter-ministerial process to take stakeholders on board.”

He defended his opinion by pointing out that Pakistan was not the only country which has not ratified the convention and many claiming to be “champions of human rights” have also not signed it yet.

Ammad maintained that Pakistan should not bind itself to something which might be damaging for it in the future. He told the House that a UN commission on enforced disappearances would be visiting the country from September 10 to 20 to deliberate over the issue.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar maintained “some stakeholders” have expressed reservations over two articles of the convention: Article 5 which calls enforced disappearance a crime against humanity and Article 6 which urges “to hold involved persons criminally responsible.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Ishaq Dar questioned why the president’s spokesperson, state minister and premier’s adviser were not on the same page, but also opposed the move saying “do you want the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence to be tried by the International Court of Justice?”

Taking into account the divided opinions, Senate Chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari deferred the resolution.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2012.