Protecting the rights of the child

Universal Children’s Day is commemorated on November 20 across the world. On November 20, 1989, the United Nations adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to safeguard child rights around the world. Pakistan ratified the convention on November 12, 1990 and made a commitment for the protection and promotion of child rights in the country. Unfortunately, even on the 22nd anniversary of the UNCRC ratification, the situation of child rights is not satisfactory. Children in Pakistan constitute almost half of the population of the country but are deprived of basic necessities and are extremely vulnerable. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, while considering Pakistan’s consolidated 3rd and 4th periodic reports, observed that the concluding observations of the second periodic report have not yet been sufficiently implemented, including those relating to the harmonisation of the laws with the convention, improved coordination at national and local levels, the establishment of a monitoring mechanism and resource allocation for children, among other steps. This is an indication that Pakistan’s progress has been weak on most counts. On October 30, 2012, during the universal periodic review of Pakistan, the Human Rights Council suggested 163 recommendations to the government of Pakistan for improving the situation of human rights in Pakistan — more than 50 percent of these recommendations are related to children rights. 

As a citizen of Pakistan and a child rights activist, I request the government of Pakistan to consider the recommendations of international bodies and to also consider passing the Charter of Child Rights Bill, the Criminal Laws Amendment (Child Protection) Bill, the National Commission on the Rights of Children Bill, the Child Marriages Restraint Amendment Bill and the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill. Moreover, federal and provincial governments must increase budgetary allocations in health, education and children-specific schemes, programmes and projects so that the welfare of children in Pakistan can be ensured.

DR IRSHAD DANISH
Islamabad 

The State of Children’s Rights in Pakistan By the Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan

A Brief Document

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pakistan

The State of Children’s Rights in Pakistan

By the Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan

1. Introduction

1.1- In April 2012, a coalition of 108 national and international organizations working for the rights of children through the Child Rights Movement (CRM) of Pakistan had submitted the Stakeholder Universal Periodic Review report with the Human Rights Council for the 14^th Session of Human Rights Council in October and November 2012. Besides, three children’s consultations were organized to incorporate children’s views in the draft report prepared by the CRM. On August 13, the CRM had organized an urgent meeting for the finalization the key concerns from the Stakeholder report. Following key concerns were unanimously were selected from the report for the advocacy purpose.

Summary of key concerns

2. National Commission on the Rights of Children

2.1- There is no an independent body at the national level for reporting, coordination and monitoring for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its three Optional Protocols. The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD), within the Ministry of Human Rights, is believed to be responsible for child rights in Pakistan but unfortunately, the NCCWD was established through a resolution in the National Assembly, and has limited human and financial resources, as well as limited powers to prevent and respond to violations of child rights and coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CRC.

Recommendations

2.2- Pakistan should establish an independent National Commission on the Rights of Children (NCRC) with provision of adequate financial support to carry out it monitoring and implementation of child rights duties; and Pakistan should immediately improve and pass the long-pending bill on the NCRC.

3. Child Protection

3.1- Child Labour and child domestic labour: Pakistan has ratified three conventions related to children: UNCRC and ILO’s Conventions 132 (the Minimum Age) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour) but little progress has been made in amending existing or introducing new legislation to comply with the provisions of the conventions.

3.2- There are estimated more than 264,000 children working as child domestic workers in Pakistan in hazardous and deplorable conditions. From January 2010 to December 2011, newspapers reported 18 cases of severe torture and abuse of child domestic workers. Out of these, 13 children died as a direct result of violence inflicted on them by their employers. Pakistan does not recognize child domestic labour as a worst form of child labour and contemporary form of slavery.

Recommendation

3.2- Pakistan should in light of the UNCRC, the ILO Conventions 132 and 182, introduce new laws, amended existing laws and ensure full implementation of those, to be implemented in all federating units and Pakistan should declare child domestic labour as a worst form of child labour and ban it under the Employment of Children Act (ECA) by 2013.

3.3 Corporal Punishment: Corporal punishment is widespread in all settings across the country and the government is not enacting the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill.

Recommendation

3.4- By 2013, adopt legislation that explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in all settings, to be implemented in all federating units.

3.5- Child marriages: In 2010, in Sindh province alone, 50 cases of child marriages were reported. In 2008-2009 of the total children from the age group 10-14 (20.19 million) and 15-19 (19.88 million), 0.12 percent (in numbers 24228) and 5.18 percent (in numbers 1029784) were reported married respectively. It does not include details of the children below 10 years of age. Child marriages are common means of settling feuds in Pakistan. Jirgas (tribal assembly of elders) are still being held, and girl children are commonly offered to settle disputes.

Recommendation

3.6- Pakistan should introduce an amendment in the Child Marriages Restraint Act 1929 to align the age of marriage of boys and girls by raising the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years, along with strict penalties for violations.

3.7- Child Sexual Abuse: The number of child sexual abuse cases has increased yearly (1,839 in 2008, 2,012 in 2009, 2,595 in 2010). On average, six children are sexually assaulted every day, but reported cases are only a fraction of all cases due to social taboo. In addition, child victims and their families are dragged through the criminal justice system.

Recommendation

3.8- Pakistan should ensure that professionals working on the front line with children, such as teachers, medical professionals, school counselors, and police personnel, are sensitized and trained to appropriately respond to child sexual abuse, including prevention, detection and management.

3.9- Introduce strict penalties for child sexual abuse by implementing the existing laws and introduce new laws.

3.10- Street Children: There are an estimated 1.2 million street children in major cities of Pakistan. Following the floods in 2010 and 2011, and ongoing conflict in the tribal areas, there has been a surge of street children in major cities of Pakistan. While there has been little done to counter this.

Recommendation

3.11- Pakistan should support mechanisms for rehabilitation and reunification of street children. The efficiency of existing institutions such as child protection and welfare bureaus should be improved by allocating more financial, technical and human resources.

3.12- Administration of Juvenile Justice: The Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO), 2000, is little recognized or known among law enforcement agencies, and officials are generally not sensitized or qualified to deal with children’s issues. Sadly the JJSO does not override, but is in addition to, several acts such as  the Army Act, Frontier Crimes Regulation, Action (in Aid Civil Power) Regulation, Anti-terrorism Act, Control of Narcotics Substance Act, Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying Ordinance and the Railways Act. Under these laws, harsh punishments including death sentences and life imprisonment can be imposed upon children.

Recommendation

3.13- Pakistan should take measures to ensure that the JJSO overrides other laws in cases involving children and establish exclusive juvenile courts in accordance with the JJSO and ensure that children’s cases are tried separately from adult cases.

3. 14- Birth Registration: Pakistan has not taken sufficient measures to remove structural obstacles to birth registration and harmonize birth registration systems across the country. No detailed by-laws, and an overall lack of awareness about the importance of birth registration among the general public, are the biggest hurdles in the way of birth registration in the country. The national average for birth registration is only 29.5 percent.

Recommendation

3.15- Pakistan should take legal and administrative measures to remove obstacles to birth registration (particularly for marginalized segments of society, e.g. single parents children, children out of wedlock, street children and orphans) and harmonize laws related to birth registration across the country by 2015.

4. Education:

4.1- The CRM is afraid that Pakistan is far from reaching the Education for All target by year 2015. About 7 million children are not attending primary school in Pakistan; approximately 60 percent of these are girls. Accordingly, more than 50 million Pakistanis above 10 years of age are illiterate.

4.2- Under Article 25A of the Constitution of Pakistan, education is fundamental right of every child from 5 to 16 years of age but neither federal nor provincial governments have introduce laws to implement the Article.

Recommendation

4.3- Pakistan should comply with Article 25-A (the Right to Education), the Government under the ECA should ban labour for children below 16 years of age in all occupations.

4.4- Pakistan should increase the budget for education by 5 percent by 2013, substantially increase budgets for girls education, to meet its MDG and EFA targets.

5. Malnutrition

5.1- Malnutrition is contributing to 35 percent of all under-5 deaths in Pakistan. According to UNICEF, 32 percent of infants have low birth-weight (recorded in 2006 and 2010). In 2010, the infant mortality rate was 70/1000 and under-5 mortality rate was 87/1000. As a result, Pakistan is at risk of failing to reach its MDG targets on maternal and child health.

Recommendation

5.2- Pakistan should take all legislative, administrative and other appropriate measures to develop and implement comprehensive food security and malnutrition prevention and response programs.

6. Legislative Weaknesses affecting children

6.1- 120 days detention without the authority of the magistrate: Pakistan has introduced the Action in Aid for Civil Power Regulations (AACPRs) for the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas and Provincially Administrated Tribal Areas. These regulations allow for the confinement of an individual, whether a child or adult, for 120 days without the authority of the magistrate. Furthermore, the Regulations state that for 120 days, there will be no legal representation or trial, and a single statement by an official from the Law Enforcement Agencies is sufficient to prove a child guilty of an offence and set a death sentence, which cannot be challenged by any other legal forum.

Recommendation

6.2- Pakistan should immediately abolish the AACPRs and proper administrative and judicial procedures should be applied in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan in FATA and PATA.

6.3- The Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: The minimum age of criminal responsibility is 7 under Section 82 of the Pakistan Penal Code. This has resulted in arrests, detention and humiliation of children less than 10 years of age by the police. A Child Protection Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill has been pending since 2009 in which the minimum age of criminal responsibility was proposed to increase from 7 to 10 years.

Recommendation

6.4- Pakistan should revise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years in the Criminal Laws (Child Protection) Amendment Bill and expedite the passage of the Bill.

6.5- Sale of Children, Prostitution and Trafficking: Pakistan ratifies the Optional Protocol to UNCRC on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in June 2011; however, which Pakistan has still not passed The Criminal Laws (Child Protection) Amendment Bill 2009, which would provide for preventive and protective measures against sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. There is a lack of legislation on internal child trafficking, and the measures against international child trafficking are weak as well. Pakistan does not provide legal and administrative measures for preventing and protecting children from trafficking between provinces inside Pakistan or even between regions.

Recommendation

6.6. Pakistan should translate ratification of the Optional Protocol on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography into national laws.

7. Child participation

7.1- Children in Pakistan are seen but not heard. Children have limited or no participation in decisions that affect their lives. There is no mechanism for seeking children’s views at the policy or practice level.

Recommendation

7.2- Pakistan should establish platforms for children participation into social and economical issues concern their lives and should focus on developing TV/radio programmes for children and encourage participation of children in all spheres of life especially the media. Pakistan should establish formal forums and mechanisms for children’s participation in civic life.

State of children’s rights deteriorating in Punjab

Situation of children’s rights in Punjab is deteriorating due to “extremely low” budgetary allocations for children’s education and health in the provincial budget, said speakers at a seminar ‘Resources Alliances for Children’.

“Budget allocations for education, health and social welfare in the fiscal year 2012-2013 have decreased from those of 2011-2012. Budget allocation for education has been reduced from 5.96 percent to 4.94 percent, health 4.8 percent to 4.57 percent and social welfare 0.64 to 0.51 percent,” participants were told at the seminar organised by Child Rights Movement Punjab (CRMP) and Social Welfare Department in collaboration with Save the Children on Wednesday.

Senior journalist Iftikhar Ahmed said that resources are generated through a proper tax system which, according to him, is “dysfunctional and ineffective” in Pakistan.

“To make our state stable, we will have to devise a proper and regular tax payment system,” he said, adding that the Punjab government is “not serious” about welfare of children.

Save the Children Program Manager Wajahat Ali Farooq said the situation of “child focused health expenditures is quiet dismal because such expenditures have shown a decrease of almost 100 percent”.

CRMP Representative Iftikhar Mubarik said the Punjab government should increase its development budget to ensure provision of services and resolve issues facing children across the province.

He also said that the budget analysis presented at the event should be shared with parliamentarians to ensure that budgetary allocations are increased in the future.

“The government should allocate more budget for the promotion and protection of children’s rights.”

Social Welfare and Women Development Department Director General Malik Muhammad Aslam pledged to work for “good governance” by making more budgetary allocations for social and welfare needs of children.

Nothing Right about Right to Education.

Punjab govt should honour child rights conventions

By launching a post card campaign the Child Rights Movement (CRM) Punjab has urged the provincial government to take immediate steps to notify Child Domestic Labor (CDL) in the list of banned occupations under the Employment of Children (Amendment) Act 2011.CRM showed its concern over the growing incidents of violence against children working as domestic servants and has demanded the provincial government to take firm measures to check and respond to the situation.
During the post card campaign starting from August 30, five thousand post cards will be sent from different segments of life ie NGOs, parliamentarians, Civil Society and Academia to Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif demanding immediate ban on Child Domestic Labour. CRM Punjab is a coalition of more then 27 organizations working for the promotion and protection of child rights. 
CRM Member and Child Rights Activist Iftikhar Mubarik said that the Child Domestic Labour was the contemporary form of slavery and violation of UNCRC, ILO convention 138, 182 and 189 ratified by the Government of Pakistan. Focal person of Punjab CRM Miqdad Naqvi said that Child Domestic Labour was not included in schedule of banned occupations and processes under the Employment of Children (Amendment) Act 2011 despite of growing issues of murder and other abuse and exploitation with children. “CRM will continuously follow up the issue with concerned authorities till a ban is placed on CDL,” CRM member Sajjad Cheema said. CRM also demanded from Punjab government to properly implement the Article 25-A of the constitution to provide free and compulsory education to all children without any discrimination of age 5-16 years. The effective implementation of article 25-A will also help to reduce the admission of children in labour force.
Chief guest of this ceremony provincial minister for labour Haji Ehsan ud Din Qureshi said that the Punjab government was putting its efforts to curb the issue of Child Labour through sustainibale efforts and launched the campaign by signing the petition card demanding from chief minister Punjab to include the child Domestic Labour in banned occupations under the ECA.

Legislation required to protect Child Rights

Child Rights Movement (CRM), a coalition of 108 civil society organisations, has expressed concern over non-implementation of the Pakistan Human Rights Council’s suggestions to safeguard the rights of children in the country and demanded immediate establishment of the National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD).
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club on Friday, CRM Coordinator Ghazala Shah, sharing the recent submission of a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report to Human Rights Council (HRC), urged the government to follow the HRC recommendations as highlighted in UPR report. 
Flanked by other human rights activists, including Aysha Bilal, Salim Malik, Dr Danish, Abdullah Khoro, the CRM coordinator said Pakistan had ratified UNCRC in 1990 and ILO Conventions 138 and 182 in 2006 and 2001, respectively, but had done little in terms of introducing legislation for the compliance of the relevant international treaties.
They regretted that Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world where polio was still endemic and malnutrition was contributing to 35 percent of all under-five children’s death in Pakistan.

published in Daily Times

CRM plans Advocacy Campigns

Child Rights Movement (CRM), has developed a six months plan along with its regional chapters to launch proactive advocacy campaigns on pending child rights legislation as well as taking new initiatives to ensure child protection in the country.

The CRM with a vision of All Children Enjoy their Rights, organised a daylong workshop to plan activities for the next six months to be carried out in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir through its national as well as regional chapters.

Hassan Mangi, Director General National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD), led the opening session in which he iterated his expectations from CRM and appreciated its active role in highlighting children-related issues and recommending required reforms and legislations. He emphasised that these efforts must continue with an integrated approach, specifically in close coordination with likeminded entities at national, regional and international level. He insisted on the importance of working towards the development of a unified National plan of action.

While emphasising on working together, as a synergy, he also mentioned the possibility of linking CRM to the South Asian Programme. He recognised that Pakistan, on the state level, has been slow in implementing laws and conventions, and that makes advocacy an even more challenging task. He also touched upon the issue of true and meaningful representation of children from all walks of life at forums like CRM. Child protection mechanism was also briefly talked about and it was suggested that the gaps be tapped upon for ensuring a hundred percent coverage throughout Pakistan.

Arshad Mehmood, an eminent Child Rights Advocacy expert, suggested several key advocacy initiatives that CRM should take up in the current year. The more important ones include: passing the bill for National Commission for the Rights of Children (NCRC) as an independent body, enacting of the Criminal Law (amendment) Bill as committed by the government at the time of signing of the optional protocol of Child Prostitution and Pornography, ratifying of the optional protocol of involvement of children in armed conflict, developing of a legislation to provide protection to street children, introducing laws against corporal punishment in all provinces, amending laws related with child labour, initiating policy dialogue with political parties on enactment of article 25-A.

The workshop, hosted by the CRM Secretariat - Children First, was attended by several member organisations to the likes of SCI, Dost Welfare Foundation, SEHR, Thardeep Rural Development Plan, Action Aid, Global Vision Organization, Idara Taleem-o-Agahi, Bedari, Rozan, SPARC, Right to Play, Aghaz, World Vision Organisation, Group Development, UGood, and Plan International. There was significant representation from the government and media as well.

Corporal Punishment must end.

A protest rally was taken out on Wednesday under the Child Rights Movement banner at Liberty Roundabout to condemn corporal punishment in schools.

Protestors led by Idaara-i-Taleem-o-Agahi (ITA) workers demanded that government institutions and civil society come together to abolish corporal punishment in schools across the country.

Dr Baela Raza Jamil, the programme director at ITA, said that a mechanism was needed to determine whether a teacher could handle children or not.

“This can take the form of a licence,” she said.

Dr Jamil said that pre-service training programmes must train teachers in how to behave with children.

“Child suicides have increased at both private and government schools,” she said. “Some of the children have blamed receiving corporal punishments at school for it.”

She said that the government needed to establish vigilance committees to monitor teachers and take swift action in case of violations of the corporal punishment law.

“Some teachers still believe they have a right to use violence to discipline children,” she said. “They think this is the only way to teach children.”

“‘A six-year-old was paraded in a school in Gujjar Khan with chor(thief) written on his forehead” Zain Yousuf, a lawyer and programme officer at the AGHS (Asma, Gulrukh, Hina and Sheila) labour wing told The Express Tribune.

The child had been accused of stealing Rs5 from a class fellow’s bag, he said.

“He did not want to return to school after the incident.”

Yousaf said he had been part of a fact finding commission to various districts in Punjab to investigate corporal punishment complaints in schools.

The number of reported incidents increased last year, Azhar Nazir, a research officer at AGHS, said.

He said that teachers often explain hitting children in terms of use poor academic performance.

Usman Ali, a programme officer at ITA, said most incidents of corporal punishment are reported from government schools.

“Teachers told a recent delegation to Dadu that ‘they could not teach without a danda (stick),” he said.

Wasif Ali, a matric student who had joined the protest with his three classmates, said that corporal punishment could lead children into drastic steps, including taking their own lives.

“When a child is humiliated at school and then at home again, what can he do except commit suicide,” he said.

The Child Rights Movement has launched a campaign against corporal punishment in schools and for generating public awareness regarding Article 25-A, which guarantees free and compulsory education between the ages of 5 and 16.

The rally was attended by 20 people who carried placards and chanted slogans to abolish corporal punishment at all schools.

The slogans included ‘Taleem Do Hifazat Say Taleem Do Pyaar Say,’ ‘Naheen Sahain Gay Bachay Tashaddud Nahein Sahain Gay’ and ‘Bund Karo, Dunda Culture Bund Karo’.

CRM plans to hold seminars and protests on each Wednesday.

“We hope to involve children and university students in the coming weeks,” said Dr Jamil

Aroosa Shaukat