NCJP conference: ‘Govt shirking duty to uphold human rights’

NCJP Executive director urged the government to engage with civil society.

LAHORE:

The government must own up to its responsibilities to its citizens and cooperate with Untied Nations bodies on human rights violations in Pakistan, said speakers at a conference organised by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) at the South Asia Free Media Association on Wednesday.

The conference aimed to answer the question, ‘Can UN human rights mechanisms help improve the situation in Pakistan?’, ahead of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of human rights practices in Pakistan on October 30. The session will be streamed live at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) auditorium.

Prominent rights activist IA Rehman said the government sought to hide human rights abuses in Pakistan because it did not want to be held accountable. He said the government should take civil society on board and undertake a serious effort to implement the recommendations of UN agencies on human rights.

NCJP Executive Director Peter Jacob said that it was unfair to discredit the UN for inaction when that was usually down to political play by super powers. He urged the government to engage with civil society.

Sajjad Cheema of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child asked if there was an alternative international platform for monitoring human rights abuses. He accused the government of hiding UN recommendations on human rights, suggesting that the government “is hiding something ugly”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2012.