Int'l Children Day today with hopes for better tomorow
By SHAFI BALOCH November 20, 2009 KARACHI - Being a member of the United Nations, Pakistan is going to observe International Children Day here on Friday (today) on the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
In this regard Pakistan under Article 44 of the UNCRC submitted its third and fourth report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in December 2008.
The UN Committee after going though the report showed serious concerns over the non-implementation of its previous concluding observation in response to the second periodic report that was submitted in 2002.
Pakistan being state party, has apparently lacked a legislative framework, harmonized with the CRC and it has delayed the enabling laws that are instrumental to the implementation of the Convention which includes the Charter of Child Rights Bill, a facsimile of the CRC, has yet not been taken on the board.
Similarly, the Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, which encompasses all the issues like child pornography, exposure to seduction, cruelty to a child, trafficking of human beings, sexual abuse, but it has not been adopted and it has been roaming in the bureaucratic corridors for years.
The Committee urged that government of Pakistan to abolish or amend some exiting laws that are in conflict with principles and provisions of the Convention, mainly the Frontier Crimes Regulation of 1901 enforced in FATA and the Zina and Hadood Ordinances, notwithstanding their revision through the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act 2006.
In the light of definition of a child and conflict between the article 1 of the CRC and the national laws, the Committee suggested to the Government to have a unified definition of a child to remove discrimination on the basis of sex, such as to amend the Zina and Hudood Ordinances (1979), as well as the Child Marriages Restraint Act (1929) in order to align the age of marriage of boys (which is already 18 years) and girls (which is already 16 years) by raising the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years.
The proposed National Commission on the Rights of the Children (NCRC) Bill is also subject to the same attitude of the state which does not have redressal powers. In addition to that the committee was very disappointed with the poor coordination among different bodies of the Government at the Federal, provincial and district levels, responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention.
It further regrets the National Commission on the Rights of Children (NCRC), which was intended to replace the existing National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD), has still not been established despite a bill was being drafted for that purpose in 2001.
Regarding budget allocation in the health and education sector for children, the Committee was disappointed and had recommended to the government to increase up to 5 percent of the GDP by 2010 in the education and 16 percent of the GDP in the health sector. The Committee was concerned that massive disparities of resources’ allocations impede full and equal access to services and institutions to all children.
The committee was very much worried about practice of corporal punishment having full legal cover under section 89 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860 which provides such exception to guardians, teachers and persons having actual control and charge of children for punishing them with impunity
In Pakistan, in educational settings as well as at homes the tendency of corporal punishment is very higher and is considered a major cause behind the exceptionally high dropout rate. For Pakistan where literacy rate miserably low, such a higher dropout ratio at high school level is a national tragedy.
Additionally, the use of corporal punishment at home is one of the leading causes forcing children to ‘run-away’ and leave the protective environment of home. In most cases they end up of the street, making them highly at risk of all kinds of abuses. The committee says that though government of PAKISTAN has issued administrative orders but no such laws regarding prevention of corporal punishment at federal and provincial level exist and also called for the repeal of 89 of the PPC.
The Committee also showed its concerns over the not registration of 70 percent of the children at the time of birth, especially girls, children belonging to a religious or minority group, refugee children, and children living in rural areas,
The committee said that the prevalence of child labour is extremely high and has increased in recent years due to growing poverty. Bonded and forced labour continue to occur in many industries and informal sector, affecting the poorest and most vulnerable children despite legislation prohibiting slavery and all forms of forced labour, including bonded labour such as Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1992 and the Employment of Children Act 1991 but since 18 years has passed very few prosecutions have taken place under the said laws and awareness regarding the same laws remain non-existent with police and judiciary.
The Committee is deeply concerned that the minimum age of criminal responsibility continues to remain very low (7 years), therefore, government should raise it to an internationally acceptable level.
It said that Juvenile offenders have reportedly been sentenced to death, very long imprisonment, and high fines even after the promulgation of the JJSO, the number of children in prisons is high, they are often detained in poor conditions, together with adult offenders and thus increasingly vulnerable to abuse and ill-treatment and the number of Juvenile Courts, trained lawyers and probation officers is insufficient.
The Committee at the end recommended to the state to make the periodic report and concluding observations widely to the public at large, civil society organizations, youth groups, media and children in order to generate debate and awareness of the Convention, its implementation and monitoring. The committee has invited Government of Pakistan to submit its 5th periodic report by 11 December 2012.