Unite for child rights in Pakistan

By Arshad Mahmood

More than 40 child rights activists from across the country gathered in Islamabad to review the state of child rights in Pakistan and plan that how will they respond together as Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan to improve the situation. CRM Pakistan is a coalition of more than 100 civil society organizations working for the promotion and protection of child rights across Pakistan having its national and AJ&K, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh chapters.

The CRM Pakistan planned policy advocacy initiative focusing on child rights at the federal and provincial levels and called upon the federal and provincial governments to take serious and committed steps to improve the deteriorating state of child rights in Pakistan.

It was agreed that CRM will engage extensively with the new federal and provincial governments and parliamentarians to ensure that all pending legislation related to child rights i.e. The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, the Child Marriages Restraint Amendment Bill and the National Commission on the Rights of Children Bill at the federal level are enacted during 2013 which has also been declared as the Year of the Rights of the Child in Pakistan.

The CRM meeting noted with concern that a number of children related legislations are pending at the provincial level and urged the provincial governments to enact the Balochistan Child Protection and Welfare Bill, the Punjab Commission on the Rights of the Child Bill, the Right to Free and Compulsory Educations Bills in Balochistan, KP and Punjab and the Prohibition of the Employment Children Bills in the all the four provinces. It was also decided that advocacy campaigns will be launched at the federal and provincial levels using various means to put pressure on the parliament for the enactment of all pending bills.

The CRM Pakistan also called upon the Government of Sindh and KP to notify rules of the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011, the KP Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010 and the KP Borstal Institutions Act 2012 and make proper budgetary allocation for the effective implementation of these laws.

CRM noted with concern that there is no child protection system in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) which makes the children living in the capital more vulnerable. The CRM decided that there will be targeted advocacy at the federal level so that the government should introduce a proper child protection system for ICT. It was also discussed and agreed steps should be taken for the implementation of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2013 in ICT and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where the laws has recently been extended by the President of Pakistan.

It was agreed that CRM will continue with its advocacy for increase in budgetary allocation for children in health including nutrition, education and child protection sectors at the national and provincial levels and will continue follow up for the implementation of Pakistan’s international obligations such as recommendations of Human Rights Council (UPR Process) and Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child etc.

The CRM also decided to get involved in debate related to Pakistan’s achievement of the MDGs and the post 2015 agenda for sustainable development. The coalition has planned to develop a Child Protection Monitoring Mechanism and regularly generate research reports and quarterly or bi-annual situation reports /newsletters and factsheets etc. It was also decided that meaningful child participation in CRM’s advocacy initiatives will be ensured.

The CRM Pakistan also discussed the situation of children in emergencies in Pakistan and called upon the government of Pakistan to take steps for the rehabilitation of children and their families affected by manmade and natural disasters in FATA and across the country. It was also decided that CRM will be involved in advocacy to keep highlighting the plight of the children affected by emergencies.

The Child Rights Movement called upon the federal government to ratify the Optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and Communications Procedure for Children and decided to launch a campaign in this regard.

There were exclusive sessions on advocacy, the use of social media for advocacy and monitoring of child rights violations mechanism development. The CRM planning meeting concluded with a resolve to unite for child rights in Pakistan. There was a unanimous agreement that working as coalition in an organize manner has more potential to achieve great results for the children of Pakistan particularly at the policy, legislation and budgetary allocation level.

The writer is among the founding members of CRM Pakistan and Director Advocacy and Child Rights Governance with Save the Children Pakistan Program.