Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Children in conflict

ARMED conflict has a number of repercussions for children. However, these can be broadly divided into two categories, both of which apply to children in Pakistan.


The first consists of children from communities affected by armed conflict as a result of direct hostilities against them and their families. These children see their schools targeted, they are often displaced because of the conflict. Some lose contact with their families and others are orphaned. Then, there are children used as soldiers or suicide bombers.

This year alone has seen, among other incidents, the kidnapping of 27 children from Bajaur Agency by Afghan Taliban, the attack by the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) on a school van near Peshawar killing five children, the death of a child in Karachi following a blast targeting the house of the chief of the CID`s anti-terror force.

The Taliban have set conditions for freeing the Bajaur children and demanded that the government release those languishing in various prisons, stop instigating tribesmen to form anti-Taliban lashkars and disband such `peace committees` in Bajaur. The Peshawar attack was termed a lesson for the concerned village that had formed a lashkar to fight the Taliban. Although it has been months since the kidnapping of the Bajaur boys, no concrete steps have been taken by the government for their release. While some of the boys have escaped, a number of helpless parents still await the return of their sons. In the past, incidents such as these would have been settled by local tribal leaders on both sides of the border. However, the ongoing conflict has seen the murder of a prominent Mamond tribal leader from Bajaur who crossed the border to visit his relatives. Not many dare to cross the border now.

In a situation where the government and military are backing private lashkars in the fight against the Taliban, they should also be able to support local communities and tribes in material terms, as they are being brought into direct conflict with the terrorists. Why have the Mamonds in Bajaur been left alone when their children have been kidnapped as punishment for siding with the government?

Similarly, a number of children have been arrested in the past few years as a result of the so-called war on terror and are in different prisons of the country, and even in Afghanistan. One case is that of 14-year-old Hameedullah Khan who was picked up in July 2008 and handed over to the Americans as a terrorist according to an international NGO Reprieve.

Khan is in the US military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan. Geneva Convention IV guarantees special care for children, but it is Additional Protocol I that lays down the principle of special protection: “Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason.” This principle also applies to non-international armed conflict.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the involvement of children in armed conflict, adopted on May 25, 2000, generally strengthens protection for children in armed conflict. It states that the state parties must take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not reached the age of 18 years do not take direct part in hostilities.

It prohibits compulsory recruitment into the armed forces of persons under 18 and directs that armed groups, distinct from the national armed forces, should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities those under 18, and that governments must take legal measures to prohibit and criminalise such practices. Pakistan has signed but has still to ratify the optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Although children are being recruited by armed groups and are also being used as suicide bombers, there is no visible action on the part of the government or concerned NGOs to tackle the issue despite the fact that rehabilitation of child soldiers is part of the national plan of action for children.

The issue of child soldiers needs to be tackled skilfully, taking into account the contributing factors of how children are lured into such a dangerous game. Both the government and NGOs should devise their strategies to protect children who are being used. The government should enact legislation to outlaw the recruitment/membership of children by armed groups and penalise those who facilitate such recruitment/membership.

A rehabilitation programme should also be started for detained child soldiers and include those who were sent to Afghanistan in the past to take part in the war against the US. NGOs should focus their energies on raising awareness about the negative impact on children of their use as soldiers.

Furthermore, there must be training programmes for officials of the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies on national and international legal instruments concerning the protection of children in armed conflicts. Free and compulsory primary education is yet another effective method to prevent the menace in future on a sustainable basis.

Finally, efforts should also be made for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of those children directly affected by the armed conflict, who have lost family members. These should include child-headed households. Meanwhile, the safe and early release of children kidnapped by the Afghan Taliban should be prioritised and both federal and provincial governments should use their influence and clout in this regard.

The writer is executive director of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.

Published in Daily Dawn on December 28, 2011
http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/28/children-in-conflict.html

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Defending human rights in Pakistan

Universal human rights day is being commemorated every year on December 10 for the last 63 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on the same date in 1948. This year’s theme was ‘Human Rights Defenders’. On the contrary, in Pakistan, the situation of Human Rights Defenders is worsening day by day keeping in view various threats faced by them in the country as a result of the ongoing extremism, talibanization, intolerance and corruption.

The cold blooded murder of Zarteef Khan Afridi, a prominent human rights defender from Khyber Agency of FATA allegedly by a group of the Taliban on December 08, just two days before the universal human rights day, reminds all human rights defenders that how unsafe Pakistan has become for them. Mr. Khan was a staunch supporter of women’s rights in FATA and considered education as a key to the cause of human rights. He kept asking the rulers for the last several years to invest in education if they are sincere in FATA’s development and eradicating extremism and poverty on sustainable grounds but in vain.

The tragic murder of Alamzeb in Karak, a human rights defender in the making, who stood firm by his sister Uzma Ayub who was kidnapped one year ago, held captive and repeatedly raped by several persons including policemen, and who managed to escape from her captors. The seventeen (17) years old girl was six months pregnant when reached back home and since then is running from pillar to post to seek justice with the help and support of his brother Alamzeb. After her escape she informed the local court, media and civil society organizations delegation that she was repeatedly raped not only by her kidnappers but also by police officials. Her sobbing mother said ‘Police is supposed to provide protection to the people but if they themselves become beasts, who will trust them?’At the tender age of seventeen (17), she has suffered much cruelty. Assistant Sub Inspector who raped the child repeatedly is known as Mangal Bagh (militant leader in Bara Khyber Agency) of Karak locally.

Alamzeb was determined to ensure justice for his sister and refused to bow down to the pressure put by the families of the accused and local religious leaders for a compromise with the accused and abortion by his sister. He was planning to transfer the case to Peshawar as he, his sister and other family members were receiving death threats from the jailed ASI Hakeem Khan and his brothers. Media and civil society kept highlighting the case urging the provincial government and police high ups to immediately take the accused policemen in custody so that they couldn’t influence the proceedings of the case and inquiry against them and should immediately provide security to the family members of the girl. The government was also urged to provide her with protection, medical assistance and legal aid that also resulted in Chief Minister Hoti’s notice of the case and ordering of an inquiry without any result though.

Due to the negligence of the police department and the provincial government, brothers of the main accused Hakeem Khan were able to kill Alamzeb in broad day light just one day before the universal human rights day in the presence of police at courts of Tehsil Takht Nusriti, District Karak. The case also highlights the concerns of civil society that the very institution “Police” which is suppose to protect human rights or human rights defenders and prevent violations of human rights are involved in heinous human rights violations themselves and are a threat to the human rights defenders like the one under discussion or a number of such cases reported in media regularly.

Human rights and child rights should be made an integral part of the police training curricula so that police officials are informed of their responsibilities as duty bearers to prevent violations of human rights including child rights at the time of training and refresher courses.

Be it the government, civil society or the international community, we all owe Zarteef Khan Afridi and Alamzeb Khattak, the brave human rights defenders who sacrificed their lives for the protection of human rights, to continue their struggle for justice and the protection of human rights what may come. The role of police department and judiciary is important in order to ensure speedy justice to Uzma Ayub and brining Alamzeb’s killers to task and of the federal and provincial governments to provide her with security and financial assistance.