National conference: Experts for improving child rights situation

Asked federal and provincial govts to ensure effective implementation of UNCRC

ISLAMABAD: Experts at a national conference stressed the need for taking effective steps for improving the state of child rights in the country.

The ‘25 Years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the state of child rights in Pakistan’ conference concluded on Thursday.

It was organised as a joint collaboration between the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) and Child Rights Movement Pakistan (CRM-PK).

The objective was to review situation of implementation of the UNCRC in the country and mobilisation of key stakeholders.

The conference called on federal and provincial governments to ensure effective implementation of the convention.

It also stressed to ensure resource allocation for children for effective implementation of child-specific laws.

CRM-PK Member Valerie Khan said this year the Universal Children’s Day was being observed as the completion of 25 years of Pakistan’s ratification of the UNCRC. It was a promise that the country will put all efforts and resources together to ensure all rights to its children as enshrined in the convention, she said.  She added that Pakistan was 6th in the world and first Muslim country to ratify the UNCRC.

The country has 25 million out-of-school children, 12 million involved in child labour, whereas, 400,000 children die before their 5th birthday because of preventable diseases, Khan informed.

Muhammad Hassan Mangi said the government was highly motivated and exerting its effort to protect children of the country.

Safdar Raza from Plan Pakistan expressed high concerns over delayed and slow response to child rights related bills in national and provincial assemblies. He said only a few have any understanding of the ratification of UNCRC by the country and its essence, which should have been a crosscutting subject for every department.

Two child participants presented their issues and raised their concerns on lack of laws for their protection and highlighted the need for proper facilities to ensure their basic right to survival and development.

Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) Secretary General IA Rehman said the government has signed and ratified many international charters and commitments and almost none of them have ever attained any attention by successive governments in the past and even by the current government. He stressed that we have not only pending bills for enactment but also flaws in the implementation mechanism of the already enacted laws, he said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law Ashtar Ali thanked the child participants on reminder of ratification of the UNCRC. He promised to personally lobby for enactment of all pending bills related to child rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2015.