There is no second opinion that Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) 1901 is against all basic norms and standards of human rights and is rightly being called a black law by the rights groups globally. It was a long standing demand of the civil society that in order to be able to bring the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) into mainstream, the FCR would have to be abolished and reforms will need to be introduced in FATA through amendments in Article 1, 246 and 247 of the Constitution. In his first speech to the National Assembly of Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani announced repeal of the FCR. Similarly, in his address to the nation on 14th August 2009 the President of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari announced political reforms in FATA including abolition of the FCR.
When the parliamentary committee was established for framing 18th constitutional amendment, FATA reforms were part of its terms of reference and there was representation from FATA as well. Surprisingly however, there was no amendment in the 18th Constitutional Amendment Act 2010 related to FATA. Article 1, 246 and 247 of the constitution are still intact and FATA has the same status as it had ever.
In response to the growing demand for reforms in FATA, in August last year the President introduced the Frontier Crimes (Amendment) Regulation 2011 and extended Political Parties Order 2002 to FATA. The nation was informed that major changes have been made in FCR and now children below 16, women and elderly will not be arrested under the collective responsibility clause of the FCR; there will be a right to appeal against the judgements of the political agents.
While going through the Frontier Crimes (Amendment) Regulation 2011 one comes to the conclusion that there is no major change in the FCR and even this regulation was introduced to divert attention from the Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulation 2011introduced earlier same year with more stringent and inhuman sentences and procedures in complete violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution and the international human rights laws. Human rights activists consider it stringent than FCR as it has also introduced death sentence which was not a part of the FCR.
The long standing demand of extending the jurisdiction of superior judiciary to FATA has been ignored once again and the collective responsibility clause is still very much a part of the FCR. National laws will still require to be extended to FATA by the president and no legislation is automatically applicable to FATA unless extended there by the president i.e. the women of FATA will remain deprived of the recently enacted Women Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act 2011 unless it is extended to FATA by the president.
Most of the political commentators and civil society representatives term the reforms inadequate as in the presence of the Article 247 of the constitution the people of FATA are still not the full citizens of Pakistan. Article 1 needs to be amended in order to give FATA the status of a full federating unit by declaring it a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or giving it the status of a separate province in accordance with the right to self determination of the people of FATA.
Article 1 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, describes FATA as a part of Pakistan and Article 247 describes the manner in which the area is to be administered. “Under Article 247 (3), no act of Parliament is applicable to FATA or any part thereof unless the President of Pakistan so directs. The Governor of [KP] acts as the ‘agent’ to the President of Pakistan” but under Article 247 (7), the tribal areas are excluded from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the High Court of [KP] until Parliament makes law in this regard however, the parliament is not fully authorized to do so.
Under Article 199 (14) and 184 (3) & (5), the High Courts and the Supreme Court can ensure the enforcement of fundamental human rights. In view of the fact, however, that FATA is excluded from the Courts’ jurisdiction under Article 247(7), the enforcement of fundamental rights cannot be foreseen. Under the Article 2-A and 175 of the Constitution, an independent judiciary has to be established, but there is no court in FATA what to talk of an independent one. Not a single human rights provision in the Constitution is possible to be applied.
Only one solid positive step is the extension of the Political Parties Order to FATA that will be helpful for political parties in initiating their activities in FATA and subsequently putting issues like FATA reforms in the manifestos of mainstream political parties. This may result in some positive reforms including the status of FATA and the repeal of discriminatory laws in future. This is what the ruling alliance is telling the civil society when asked about FATA reforms knowing well that this will be meaningless without constitutional amendments.
With the above analyses one can safely come to the conclusion that the FATA reforms in its present shape are a gimmick or rhetoric and it is not going to bring any lasting changes in the lives of the people of FATA and is going to play no role in bringing them into mainstream and upholding their human rights.
This is unfortunate that despite repeated commitments, this government and the present parliament lost an important opportunity to bring FATA into mainstream and ensure the people of FATA their rights in light of the constitution and Pakistan’s international obligations being party to the international bill of rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified on April 17, 2008, and other important human rights treaties such as the Convention Against Torture, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CESAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) etc.
The president, the government and above all the parliament should look into the FATA reforms issue in light of the demands of the people of FATA and Pakistan’s international obligations and should recommit themselves to bringing genuine reforms in accordance with the wishes of the people of the FATA. Amendments shall be made in Article 1, 246 and 247 of the Constitution not only to bring FATA into mainstream but also to ensure protection of the fundamental rights of the people of FATA. Similarly, jurisdiction of the superior courts should be extended and the Parliament shall be empowered to legislate for FATA and all relevant laws of the country shall be applicable to FATA without any condition of extension by the president.
The writer holds a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and is the Executive Director of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.
Published in Islamabad Dateline on January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Child rights in Pakistan
Child rights in Pakistan
Arshad Mahmood
Having a look at the state of child rights in Pakistan in light of indicators like Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or the benchmarks set under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the results are depressing and we still lag far behind in fulfilling our promises to our children. Last year’s floods added to the already complex challenges of conflict, terrorism, the appalling state of the health and education sectors, and lack of legislative initiatives combined with poor or no implementation of existing laws.
The conflict in northern parts of the country, the wave of terrorism in the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in particular and the continued political instability and civil unrest in Balochistan have all combined to put the rights of the child at stake. Children in Pakistan continue to be affected by militancy. They have been the innocent victims of terrorist attacks carried out all across the country. In an unprecedented move by the militants, school buses were targeted in the recent past and as a result many children were injured or lost their lives.
This is surprising that there is some evidence of a decreasing trend in child labour globally. Unfortunately however, in Pakistan there has been an increase in child labour. One of less acknowledged but potentially worst form of child labour that is rampant in the country is child domestic labour. During the last one and a half year we got more evidence of the way child domestic labourers are treated in the privacy of homes and the abuses they suffer. 15 cases of torture to death of child domestic labourers were reported by the media from January 2010 to date starting from the famous Shazia Masih case in Lahore. Similarly, a number of cases of torture and serious injuries resulting in lifelong disabilities were also reported by media and child rights groups. Punjab, being the province from where the highest number deaths and disabilities through torture have been reported, must respond to the situation immediately. Similarly, the federal government should also realize its responsibility and check the menace of child domestic labour in federal capital, if not in the whole country.
Violence against children is widespread; at homes, in the streets and institutions and in the criminal justice system. The unfortunate and terrible incidents like the Sialkot lynching of two brothers and rape of a 13 year old girl in Wah Cantonment police station are some of the horrible examples of increasing trends of violence against children. There are other shocking examples. The indoctrination and use of children as suicide bombers, torture of child domestic labourers, and physical punishment of students, sometime with fatal results, are some of the ways that children are treated by this society. Other incidents of violence have been covered in the media on almost a daily basis. The atrocities committed against children take many forms but the perpetrators are almost always adults in their role as guardians, teachers, relatives and even law enforcement personnel; the very people that children should be most safe with.
The criminal justice system for children is a challenge. Lack of a concerted effort, due to absence of a statutory body for children, has resulted in failure to include international and national standards in the training curricula of judicial, police, prison, probation and related government agencies. A lack of awareness among various actors of the criminal justice system about the rights of the child and their respective obligations has constantly been observed, due to which children have to face hardships in a criminal justice procedures.
Despite acknowledging the draconian nature of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) both by the Prime Minister and the President in their respective addresses in the National Assembly’s inaugural session and to the nation on independence day, FCR is still a reality in the Federally administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and a number of people including innocent women and children are in prisons under its collective responsibility clause.
Pakistan is now a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Being Party to the ICCPR further obligates the State to ensure all the inhabitants have equal civil and political rights which is not the case as for as the people of FATA are concerned. The issue of FCR should be resolved and Article 247 (Administration of Tribal Areas) of the Constitution should be amended in order to bring Tribal Areas into the mainstream.
Similarly, at the policy level no concrete steps were taken for the implementation of the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Pakistan’s last Periodic Report which had called for, among other steps, approval of a national child protection policy and related laws, increase in resource allocation for health, education and child protection, establishment of a national commission on the rights of children and inclusion of child rights in the training curricula of all professional training colleges and academies.
Following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the Concurrent Legislative List has been deleted, leading to confusion within the relevant ministries, departments as well as among other stakeholders on the legislative competency of the federal legislature and existence of coordination mechanism at the national level on the subject of children. The civil society wholeheartedly, welcomes the 18th Amendment and has already started actively coordinating with concerned provincial government departments for related legislative and other initiatives however, we cannot ignore the reality that the devolution does not absolve the federal government and federal legislature of its responsibilities towards children in light of the Constitution and Pakistan’s international obligations being Party to the CRC and other UN and ILO Conventions.
To conclude, the need to protect children has never been greater. We all need to work together to ensure that the rights of children enshrined in the Constitution, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Islamic injunctions are honored. The government and the parliament need to prioritize child rights and immediately pass all the pending legislation. There should be proper budgetary allocation for all children related initiatives, a national commission should be established to work for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child and ensure implementation of Pakistan’s national and international obligations. A plan of action should be adopted for the implementation of the CO&R of the UN Committee. The plight of children in Pakistan can be improved on a sustainable basis by taking these initiatives. The key, however, is political will.
Arshad Mahmood
Having a look at the state of child rights in Pakistan in light of indicators like Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or the benchmarks set under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the results are depressing and we still lag far behind in fulfilling our promises to our children. Last year’s floods added to the already complex challenges of conflict, terrorism, the appalling state of the health and education sectors, and lack of legislative initiatives combined with poor or no implementation of existing laws.
The conflict in northern parts of the country, the wave of terrorism in the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in particular and the continued political instability and civil unrest in Balochistan have all combined to put the rights of the child at stake. Children in Pakistan continue to be affected by militancy. They have been the innocent victims of terrorist attacks carried out all across the country. In an unprecedented move by the militants, school buses were targeted in the recent past and as a result many children were injured or lost their lives.
This is surprising that there is some evidence of a decreasing trend in child labour globally. Unfortunately however, in Pakistan there has been an increase in child labour. One of less acknowledged but potentially worst form of child labour that is rampant in the country is child domestic labour. During the last one and a half year we got more evidence of the way child domestic labourers are treated in the privacy of homes and the abuses they suffer. 15 cases of torture to death of child domestic labourers were reported by the media from January 2010 to date starting from the famous Shazia Masih case in Lahore. Similarly, a number of cases of torture and serious injuries resulting in lifelong disabilities were also reported by media and child rights groups. Punjab, being the province from where the highest number deaths and disabilities through torture have been reported, must respond to the situation immediately. Similarly, the federal government should also realize its responsibility and check the menace of child domestic labour in federal capital, if not in the whole country.
Violence against children is widespread; at homes, in the streets and institutions and in the criminal justice system. The unfortunate and terrible incidents like the Sialkot lynching of two brothers and rape of a 13 year old girl in Wah Cantonment police station are some of the horrible examples of increasing trends of violence against children. There are other shocking examples. The indoctrination and use of children as suicide bombers, torture of child domestic labourers, and physical punishment of students, sometime with fatal results, are some of the ways that children are treated by this society. Other incidents of violence have been covered in the media on almost a daily basis. The atrocities committed against children take many forms but the perpetrators are almost always adults in their role as guardians, teachers, relatives and even law enforcement personnel; the very people that children should be most safe with.
The criminal justice system for children is a challenge. Lack of a concerted effort, due to absence of a statutory body for children, has resulted in failure to include international and national standards in the training curricula of judicial, police, prison, probation and related government agencies. A lack of awareness among various actors of the criminal justice system about the rights of the child and their respective obligations has constantly been observed, due to which children have to face hardships in a criminal justice procedures.
Despite acknowledging the draconian nature of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) both by the Prime Minister and the President in their respective addresses in the National Assembly’s inaugural session and to the nation on independence day, FCR is still a reality in the Federally administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and a number of people including innocent women and children are in prisons under its collective responsibility clause.
Pakistan is now a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Being Party to the ICCPR further obligates the State to ensure all the inhabitants have equal civil and political rights which is not the case as for as the people of FATA are concerned. The issue of FCR should be resolved and Article 247 (Administration of Tribal Areas) of the Constitution should be amended in order to bring Tribal Areas into the mainstream.
Similarly, at the policy level no concrete steps were taken for the implementation of the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Pakistan’s last Periodic Report which had called for, among other steps, approval of a national child protection policy and related laws, increase in resource allocation for health, education and child protection, establishment of a national commission on the rights of children and inclusion of child rights in the training curricula of all professional training colleges and academies.
Following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the Concurrent Legislative List has been deleted, leading to confusion within the relevant ministries, departments as well as among other stakeholders on the legislative competency of the federal legislature and existence of coordination mechanism at the national level on the subject of children. The civil society wholeheartedly, welcomes the 18th Amendment and has already started actively coordinating with concerned provincial government departments for related legislative and other initiatives however, we cannot ignore the reality that the devolution does not absolve the federal government and federal legislature of its responsibilities towards children in light of the Constitution and Pakistan’s international obligations being Party to the CRC and other UN and ILO Conventions.
To conclude, the need to protect children has never been greater. We all need to work together to ensure that the rights of children enshrined in the Constitution, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Islamic injunctions are honored. The government and the parliament need to prioritize child rights and immediately pass all the pending legislation. There should be proper budgetary allocation for all children related initiatives, a national commission should be established to work for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child and ensure implementation of Pakistan’s national and international obligations. A plan of action should be adopted for the implementation of the CO&R of the UN Committee. The plight of children in Pakistan can be improved on a sustainable basis by taking these initiatives. The key, however, is political will.
The need to establish National Commission on the Rights of Children
Establish National Commission on the Rights of Children
Every day we keep reading news of blatant child rights violations across the country. Children are faced with a number of issues including lack of a comprehensive legal framework to protect children particularly the issue of internal trafficking children, child domestic labour, child sexual abuse, corporal punishment etc. to name a few areas. The is despite the fact that Pakistan was 6th among the world community and first Islamic country to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and have recently also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography. Budgetary allocation of child protection is equal to zero and whatever little bit of initiatives we see are initiated by national or international NGOs.
There is no body responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of children in Pakistan following the 18th Constitutional Amendment as before the 18th Amendment there was a body called National Commission on Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD) in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education. Although, one can have several questions about the performance of NCCWD but at least there was some kind of coordination mechanism available. Unfortunately, following the 18th Amendment there is no body at the federal level responsible for coordination with the provinces on the issues of child rights. Similarly, there is no follow up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Pakistan’s last periodic report. A number of bills which were in the pipeline for the past several years are limbo because there is no one charge to follow those despite the fact that some of them have nothing to do with 18th Amendment.
I urge the Government to expedite the process of enactment of legislation that embodies the rights of children and for the setting up of an independent commission on the rights of children. The Commission should have the powers to monitor and protect children’s rights across the country in order to ensure minimum standards in light of our constitutional and international obligations and to advocate for policy and systemic improvements including those related to budgetary allocation. The recent decision by the Government to place the National Commission on the Status of Women in the Ministry of Human Rights is a welcome step. In this context the case of children is at par and in juxtaposition with those of women.
Every day we keep reading news of blatant child rights violations across the country. Children are faced with a number of issues including lack of a comprehensive legal framework to protect children particularly the issue of internal trafficking children, child domestic labour, child sexual abuse, corporal punishment etc. to name a few areas. The is despite the fact that Pakistan was 6th among the world community and first Islamic country to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and have recently also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography. Budgetary allocation of child protection is equal to zero and whatever little bit of initiatives we see are initiated by national or international NGOs.
There is no body responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of children in Pakistan following the 18th Constitutional Amendment as before the 18th Amendment there was a body called National Commission on Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD) in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education. Although, one can have several questions about the performance of NCCWD but at least there was some kind of coordination mechanism available. Unfortunately, following the 18th Amendment there is no body at the federal level responsible for coordination with the provinces on the issues of child rights. Similarly, there is no follow up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Pakistan’s last periodic report. A number of bills which were in the pipeline for the past several years are limbo because there is no one charge to follow those despite the fact that some of them have nothing to do with 18th Amendment.
I urge the Government to expedite the process of enactment of legislation that embodies the rights of children and for the setting up of an independent commission on the rights of children. The Commission should have the powers to monitor and protect children’s rights across the country in order to ensure minimum standards in light of our constitutional and international obligations and to advocate for policy and systemic improvements including those related to budgetary allocation. The recent decision by the Government to place the National Commission on the Status of Women in the Ministry of Human Rights is a welcome step. In this context the case of children is at par and in juxtaposition with those of women.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The plight of child domestic labourers
Tehmina Qasim, 12 years old, is another addition to the count of the child domestic labourers who were tortured to death by their employers in the country, with most of the cases reported in Punjab. Tehmina was so severely tortured by her employers in Islamabad last year that her backbone was damaged. Her elder sister, who was also working for the same employers, managed to bring her to hospital where she was operated to help her at least be able to sit as it would not be possible for her to walk ever according to doctors. The perpetrators could not be punished for this heinous crime against the innocent child as usual as her father entered into a settlement with the employers with the support of his own lawyer after receiving a few hundred thousand rupees and left with Tehmina for his native village in District Rahim Yar Khan in southern Punjab. Tehmina died after a year’s struggle for life last week.
The case was highlighted by a few newspapers and some civil society organizations but to no avail. The government is not interested in looking into the plight of child domestic labourers as most of the bureaucrats and parliamentarians employ children themselves. What should be done to realize the authorities about the gravity of the situation? Tehmina was the 15th child who died as a result of torture by employers since Shazia Masih’s tragic death in January last year.
This is regrettable that despite the outrage following Shazia Masih`s case in Lahore, other innocent lives continue to be affected by the heinous practice of Child Domestic Labour. This is largely the result of impunity with which employers exploit and abuse children working in their homes. In most cases, the perpetrators are never brought to justice and victims or their families are pressurized into settling out of court as happened in the case of Tehmina.
We, as a society, have accepted these blatant violations of child rights and are immuned to such barbaric acts of violence against children. As a result, children are suffering and their futures are at stake. Civil society keeps highlighting such issues but the state has failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation and react. We should strongly condemn the phenomenon of child domestic labour and at every forum demand both the federal and provincial governments to take solid measures to check growing violence against child domestic labourers and respond to the situation by notifying Child Domestic Labour in the list of banned occupations under the Employment of Children Act (ECA) 1991.
After the 18th amendment, ECA 1991 has to be adopted by the provinces before June 30, 2011 and Punjab has already adopted the Employment of Children Amendment Act 2011 without making any change in the ECA 1991 as far as the schedule of banned occupations is concerned. In this context, it is also noteworthy that most of the cases of violence against child domestic labourers highlighted in the media were from Punjab. The government of Punjab should immediately notify Child Domestic Labour under the schedule of banned occupations of the ECA 2011. Furthermore, the other provinces should also include Child Domestic Labour in ECA’s schedule of banned occupations while adopting the law.
It is hoped, that the effective implementation of the constitutional provision about free and compulsory education for children of five to 16 years could also be a good preventive step. Without ensuring free and compulsory quality education, it will not be possible to eradicate child labour and particularly its worst forms including child domestic labour. No visible steps, however, have been taken by any province or even the Islamabad Capital Territory, for the implementation of this constitutional provision despite the lapse of more than one year of the passage of the 18th amendment.
The case was highlighted by a few newspapers and some civil society organizations but to no avail. The government is not interested in looking into the plight of child domestic labourers as most of the bureaucrats and parliamentarians employ children themselves. What should be done to realize the authorities about the gravity of the situation? Tehmina was the 15th child who died as a result of torture by employers since Shazia Masih’s tragic death in January last year.
This is regrettable that despite the outrage following Shazia Masih`s case in Lahore, other innocent lives continue to be affected by the heinous practice of Child Domestic Labour. This is largely the result of impunity with which employers exploit and abuse children working in their homes. In most cases, the perpetrators are never brought to justice and victims or their families are pressurized into settling out of court as happened in the case of Tehmina.
We, as a society, have accepted these blatant violations of child rights and are immuned to such barbaric acts of violence against children. As a result, children are suffering and their futures are at stake. Civil society keeps highlighting such issues but the state has failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation and react. We should strongly condemn the phenomenon of child domestic labour and at every forum demand both the federal and provincial governments to take solid measures to check growing violence against child domestic labourers and respond to the situation by notifying Child Domestic Labour in the list of banned occupations under the Employment of Children Act (ECA) 1991.
After the 18th amendment, ECA 1991 has to be adopted by the provinces before June 30, 2011 and Punjab has already adopted the Employment of Children Amendment Act 2011 without making any change in the ECA 1991 as far as the schedule of banned occupations is concerned. In this context, it is also noteworthy that most of the cases of violence against child domestic labourers highlighted in the media were from Punjab. The government of Punjab should immediately notify Child Domestic Labour under the schedule of banned occupations of the ECA 2011. Furthermore, the other provinces should also include Child Domestic Labour in ECA’s schedule of banned occupations while adopting the law.
It is hoped, that the effective implementation of the constitutional provision about free and compulsory education for children of five to 16 years could also be a good preventive step. Without ensuring free and compulsory quality education, it will not be possible to eradicate child labour and particularly its worst forms including child domestic labour. No visible steps, however, have been taken by any province or even the Islamabad Capital Territory, for the implementation of this constitutional provision despite the lapse of more than one year of the passage of the 18th amendment.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Justice denied: Haleema Bhutto
It was appalling to watch the dreadful story of Haleema Bhutto, the daughter of Sindh, a few days back where her nephew Babar Ali Bhutto was shown brought up on footpath near national press club in Islamabad. Haleema, her brother, her sister, brother in law and a two and half years old nephew came to Islamabad on March 29, 2010 following Haleema being declared ‘Kari’ by the tribe of her husband following a dispute with her husband over a piece of land that her husband wanted her to transfer in his name. When I met Haleema, the first impression I got was that she has completely lost her faith in the government, judiciary, parliament, media and NGOs and understandably so as none of these could help her in its true sense.
It was surprising to learn from her that she was already been visited by former Ministers for Human Rights and Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, she has been visited by prominent women’s rights activists and female members of the Parliament I could think of contacting to muster support for her to ensure her justice including but not limited to Sharmila Farooqi, Bushra Gohar, Yasmin Rehman, Tauqir Fatma Bhutto, Fauzia Wahab, Fauzia Habib, Farah Naz, Nirgis ND Khan, Mehreen Bhutto, Shazia Marri, Shehnaz Wazir Ali and Nargis Faiz Malik with no results to ensure her justice and her safe return to her native District Ghotki in Sindh.
Haleema and her brother have more than seventy visiting cards of government officials, parliamentarians, journalists, lawyers, NGOs’ representatives, UN Agencies representatives who visited them with no results. Haleema was told by one of the female parliamentarians that she was sent by President Asef Ali Zaradari to meet her and look into her case. Despite all these high level contacts, meetings, visits and support, the family is on footpath for the approximately 373 days in tough weather conditions with a little child with them but to no avail. This shows nothing but the failure of the State to provide protection to its citizens and unfortunately all organs of the State have been exposed.
I thought of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights, to get help for her, but she has already been introduced to the Standing Committee by MNA Marvi Memon and the Standing Committee also took some steps that unfortunately however, could not bring an end to her painful ordeal and ensure justice to her. Besides, she also brought her case in the notice of Standing Committee on Interior, which directed DPO Ghotki in April 2010 to send report on Haleema case within one week along with action taken against accused persons. In July 2010 FIRs No. 235-236 and 203 and 100 were registered in Jobaro and Dharki police stations with no arrests. Similarly, Marvi Memon once brought her to Supreme Court where she briefly informed the Court about her ordeal and this is why whatever little faith she has in the system and its custodians that is because of Marvi Memon of whom she speaks positively and acknowledge her support.
Haleema’s ordeal started at her childhood when she was married at the age of 12 and within a year she had to take refuge at her parents’ home following brutal torture by her husband when she refused to transfer her land in his name. She was there at her parents’ home for 18 years before she was sent back to her husband’s home on the condition that she wouldn’t be tortured neither she would be asked to transfer her land. The agreement soon came to end when her husband started his old tactics once again for gaining control of property.
Haleema’s demands from the State and civil society of this country are very simple; support to get divorce from her husband, protection of life and property, putting to justice those accused of terming her ‘Kari’ and an impartial investigation of the case, giving them back the possession of their land and compensation of loss suffered by her and her family. No lawyer, judge, parliamentarian or a human rights activist can term any of these demands unjust or unlawful. She has the right to spend her life as per her one free will in accordance with national and international laws and the religion, state is bound to provide her and her family protection and to have an impartial investigation into the case and a free and fair trial to ensure justice is done.
Why is it taking us so long to provide a woman and a three and a half year old child and their family with their rights? Why is the State so helpless in this case? Why is the Parliament so ineffective despite she been visited and ensured their full support by more than a dozen female parliamentarians and ministers? Why is the Supreme Court unable to resolve the issue? Why is the Insani Huqooq Itehad and the civil society of Islamabad unable to take up this case and why were some civil society organizations unable to fulfill their promises to Haleema?
Through these lines I request the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice Supreme Court and the Chief Justice Sindh High Court, Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan and the Sindh government to immediately look into Haleema Bhutto’s case and ensure justice to her before it is too late, before innocent Babar Ali also lose his innocence on the footpaths of Islamabad, before we repent the time when she was calling us for help and we forgot her in our own busy schedules, before she take some dire step, before someone else direct us to help her and before we all admit that we have failed. What else a weak women and her family can do to ensure justice is done to her? To get our attention and the attention of those in power? To get the law enforcement arm of the State function?
This is a test case for the State of Pakistan to prove that the State functions are doing their job properly and that the State can protect its citizens and particularly the vulnerable groups like women and children.
It was surprising to learn from her that she was already been visited by former Ministers for Human Rights and Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, she has been visited by prominent women’s rights activists and female members of the Parliament I could think of contacting to muster support for her to ensure her justice including but not limited to Sharmila Farooqi, Bushra Gohar, Yasmin Rehman, Tauqir Fatma Bhutto, Fauzia Wahab, Fauzia Habib, Farah Naz, Nirgis ND Khan, Mehreen Bhutto, Shazia Marri, Shehnaz Wazir Ali and Nargis Faiz Malik with no results to ensure her justice and her safe return to her native District Ghotki in Sindh.
Haleema and her brother have more than seventy visiting cards of government officials, parliamentarians, journalists, lawyers, NGOs’ representatives, UN Agencies representatives who visited them with no results. Haleema was told by one of the female parliamentarians that she was sent by President Asef Ali Zaradari to meet her and look into her case. Despite all these high level contacts, meetings, visits and support, the family is on footpath for the approximately 373 days in tough weather conditions with a little child with them but to no avail. This shows nothing but the failure of the State to provide protection to its citizens and unfortunately all organs of the State have been exposed.
I thought of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights, to get help for her, but she has already been introduced to the Standing Committee by MNA Marvi Memon and the Standing Committee also took some steps that unfortunately however, could not bring an end to her painful ordeal and ensure justice to her. Besides, she also brought her case in the notice of Standing Committee on Interior, which directed DPO Ghotki in April 2010 to send report on Haleema case within one week along with action taken against accused persons. In July 2010 FIRs No. 235-236 and 203 and 100 were registered in Jobaro and Dharki police stations with no arrests. Similarly, Marvi Memon once brought her to Supreme Court where she briefly informed the Court about her ordeal and this is why whatever little faith she has in the system and its custodians that is because of Marvi Memon of whom she speaks positively and acknowledge her support.
Haleema’s ordeal started at her childhood when she was married at the age of 12 and within a year she had to take refuge at her parents’ home following brutal torture by her husband when she refused to transfer her land in his name. She was there at her parents’ home for 18 years before she was sent back to her husband’s home on the condition that she wouldn’t be tortured neither she would be asked to transfer her land. The agreement soon came to end when her husband started his old tactics once again for gaining control of property.
Haleema’s demands from the State and civil society of this country are very simple; support to get divorce from her husband, protection of life and property, putting to justice those accused of terming her ‘Kari’ and an impartial investigation of the case, giving them back the possession of their land and compensation of loss suffered by her and her family. No lawyer, judge, parliamentarian or a human rights activist can term any of these demands unjust or unlawful. She has the right to spend her life as per her one free will in accordance with national and international laws and the religion, state is bound to provide her and her family protection and to have an impartial investigation into the case and a free and fair trial to ensure justice is done.
Why is it taking us so long to provide a woman and a three and a half year old child and their family with their rights? Why is the State so helpless in this case? Why is the Parliament so ineffective despite she been visited and ensured their full support by more than a dozen female parliamentarians and ministers? Why is the Supreme Court unable to resolve the issue? Why is the Insani Huqooq Itehad and the civil society of Islamabad unable to take up this case and why were some civil society organizations unable to fulfill their promises to Haleema?
Through these lines I request the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice Supreme Court and the Chief Justice Sindh High Court, Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan and the Sindh government to immediately look into Haleema Bhutto’s case and ensure justice to her before it is too late, before innocent Babar Ali also lose his innocence on the footpaths of Islamabad, before we repent the time when she was calling us for help and we forgot her in our own busy schedules, before she take some dire step, before someone else direct us to help her and before we all admit that we have failed. What else a weak women and her family can do to ensure justice is done to her? To get our attention and the attention of those in power? To get the law enforcement arm of the State function?
This is a test case for the State of Pakistan to prove that the State functions are doing their job properly and that the State can protect its citizens and particularly the vulnerable groups like women and children.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
