Universal
Children’s Day (UCD) was observed on November 20 with great show by the
government and civil society across Pakistan. The Prime Minister declared 2013
as the year of child rights and made announcements about establishment of the
National Commission on the Rights of Children and budgetary allocation for the
Parliamentary Forum on Child Rights. These are good steps however; 2013 being
declared as the year of child rights, I would like to put a few concrete
recommendations for the current government to pursue in the last few months of
its tenure and to be able to bring some positive changes in the arena of child
rights in Pakistan.
On
October 30, 2012 Pakistan’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held at the
Human Rights Council in Geneva. It’ll be great if the present government
immediately accept all recommendation and particularly those related to child
rights and chalk out a plan for the implementation of the UPR recommendations. Furthermore,
Pakistan’s Periodic report being party to the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child was due in 2012 however, it could not be submitted timely, neither
were the recommendations on the last periodic report implemented properly. The
government should prepare and submit the periodic report to the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child and implement recommendations both by the Committee on
the Rights of the Child and Human Rights Council including the recommendations
related to legislation by passing all pending bills i.e. the Criminal Law
Amendment (Child Protection) Bill 2009, the National Commission on the Rights
of Children Bill 2009, the Charter of Child Rights Bill 2009, the Prohibition
of Corporal Punishment Bill and the Child Marriages Restraint Amendment Bill.
To
respond to the issue of child domestic labour the government should immediately
ban child domestic labour by notifying it under the schedule of banned
occupations of the Employment of Children Act 1991. Furthermore, the government
should notify rules of the recently enacted the ICT Right to Free and
Compulsory Education Act 2012 and make budgetary allocation of ensuring its
implementation in the Federal Capital. Similarly, the President should notify
the Federally Administered Areas Right to Free and Compulsory Education
Regulation and all the four provinces should enact the Right to Free and
Compulsory Education Bills on the pattern of national legislature.
The federal
government and particularly the Parliamentary Forum for Child Right should help
as well as push the provincial governments for investing in children and
introducing laws in the remaining few months of the present Provincial
Assemblies. It is regrettable that there was no child rights related
legislation in some provinces in the tenure of current assemblies.
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa introduced the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act
2010 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Borstal Institutions Act 2012 however;
implementation of these laws and budgetary allocation for their proper
implementation is still to be made. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and
Welfare Commission is doing an excellent job since its establishment following
the enactment of the law in 2010 however; the provincial government should make
sufficient budgetary allocation for the Commission to be able to establish
Child Protection Units (currently CPUs have been established in 8 out of 25
districts) across all districts of the Province and work more effectively.
Punjab
enacted the Punjab Employment of Children Amendment Act 2011, without any
amendments in the federal Employment of Children Act 1991 though except
changing the word Pakistan with Punjab and the word Federal with the word
Provincial. The government of Punjab should ban Child Domestic Labour by
notifying it under the schedule of banned occupations of the Employment of
Children Amendment Act 2011. The Provincial Assembly should also enact the
Punjab Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill. The government of Punjab should
also establish an independent Provincial Commission on the Rights of Children
through an Act of the Provincial Assembly to work for the promotion and
protection of child rights in the province in light of our national and
international obligations and make budgetary allocation for the implementation
of all children related laws in the province.
Sindh
introduced the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011 however;
implementation of the law and budgetary allocation is still awaited. The
government of Sindh should immediately notify rules of the Sindh Child
Protection Authority Act 2011; notify the Sindh Child Protection Authority and
establish Child Protection Units at the local level in accordance with Section
16 of the law and this will not be possible without proper budgetary allocation
for the implementation of the law.
Furthermore,
Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh should introduce the Right to
Free and Compulsory Education Acts in light of Article 25 A of the Constitution
whereby education has been made a fundamental right for every child of 5 to 16
years of age and make budgetary allocation for the effective implementation of
this very important constitutional provision. Recently in a forum on Right to
Education in Islamabad most of the provincial government representatives were
presenting lack of financial resources particularly budget for building new
school buildings as a major hurdle in the implementation of this constitutional
provision. It is recommended that the provincial governments should think of
various options including using the existing facilities i.e. school buildings,
teachers efficiently to respond to the situation such as evening shifts.
Unfortunately,
Balochistan is the only province which has failed to introduce any child rights
specific legislation since independence. It’s high time that the Provincial Assembly
responds to its constitutional obligations and passes all pending bills related
to child rights particularly the Balochistan Child Protection and Welfare Bill,
the Balochistan Borstal Institutions Bill, the Balochistan Employment of
Children Amendment Bill and the Balochistan Prohibition of Corporal Punishment
Bill. The government of Balochistan should also make budgetary allocation for
the implementation of these laws particularly in the areas of health, education
and child protection.
The
federal and provincial government with the support of the civil society, UN
Agencies and donors should immediately begin planning for 2013; the year of
child rights, and come up with plans and strategies for making 2013 truly a
year of the rights the children of Pakistan. As recommended above, the federal
and provincial legislature should pass all pending bills related to child
rights and the respective governments should make budgetary allocations for the
implementation of those laws. Furthermore, the federal government should ratify
Optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and on the Communications Procedure. Similarly,
the civil society, the UN and donors Agencies can support the federal and
provincial governments not only in the initial implementation of children
related plans and projects but also in creating widespread awareness about
child rights and extending technical assistance in having in place the right
laws, policies and strategies.
The
writer is a child rights activist and tweets @amahmood72
Publised in Daily Dawn on December 10, 2012 http://dawn.com/2012/12/10/child-rights-agenda/
