Child Rights Movement demands: Need to implement JJSO in FATA stressed

Law could not be implemented due to lack of budgetary allocations


Our Correspondent November 20, 2015
CRM Fata President Said Zar Ali Khan Afridi/ PHOTO: facebook.com/Child-Rights-Movement-FATA

PESHAWAR:


The Child Rights Movement (CRM) has urged the federal government to implement Juvenile Justice Ordinance 2000 (JJSO) in Pakistan, stated a press release issued on Friday.


According to the statement, the FATA Secretariat has been asked to provide assistance in this regard.

“The law could not be implemented in letter and spirit in Fata due to various reasons,” read the document. “These included the absence of necessary budgetary allocations and certain important mechanism such as probation officers and juvenile courts.”



The press release quoted CRM Fata President Said Zar Ali Khan Afridi as saying, “The government and the judiciary should allocate funds for the provision of legal assistance to children at the state’s expense and establish Exclusive Juvenile Courts for every agency and Frontier Region (FR).”  He also demanded the appointment of at least one male and one female probation officer for every agency and FR respectively.

“The federal government should also coordinate with the FATA Secretariat in Peshawar for effective implementation of the provisions of the JJSO in tribal areas as the law has already been extended in 2004,” the statement quoted him as saying. “There is no separate lockup system for children in any agency and they are kept with adults. This is a violation of UNCRC and JJSO 2000 as children need to be kept aloof from adults.”

The concept of juvenile justice is based on the need to put in place a comprehensive system which not only provides punitive measures to deal with children who break the law, but can also help turn young offenders away from a life of crime.

Pakistan tried to put in place such a system through the introduction of the JJSO, which was promulgated in 2000. However, the JJSO has yet to be effectively enforced, leaving much to be desired in terms of how children accused of committing crimes are being treated by the authorities and in terms of supplemental efforts made to prevent juveniles from becoming repeat offenders and increasingly serious offenders. Several flaws in implementation have also become apparent over these past few years, which need more attention.

The JJSO is itself rather scant with only 15 sections, so it is not surprising to find it vague, concerning several important issues. While the ordinance mentions the need to establish juvenile courts, the government has yet to provide funding for the initiative.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21th, 2015.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ