The events of the past few years have demonstrated that global regulatory bodies or US federal statutes enacted for the purpose of human rights advocacy also play into political considerations, international rivalries and geopolitical motivations. The 2021 inclusion of Pakistan into the US Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) List—published under a domestic US legislation—in the US State Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2021, and then subsequent recent 2022 removal of Pakistan from this list, is a prime example of such biases coming into play.
There is perhaps unanimous agreement that Pakistan should never have been included in the CSPA list in the first place—and this notion is vindicated by the fact that our inclusion lasted only a year. Pakistan does not, and did not support any non-state armed group; nor any entity recruiting or using child soldiers.
At the time of its inclusion in the list, Pakistan was in compliance with and had enacted several laws to eliminate human trafficking, including the Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Acts; the National Action Plan 2021-25 prepared jointly by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and regular coordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There is no logical explanation for why Pakistan was randomly enlisted, considering there are many countries with far worse records that were not given the same treatment.
It is good that the US realised its mistake and rectified it, yet this arbitrary listing must be addressed by any diplomatic mission going forward. We want to ensure that no such grey-listing happens again, where an incriminating report or list is published without consulting any of our state institutions or without any details provided of the basis on which such conclusions are reached. The foreign ministry must also look to secure guarantees that any adjustments made should amount to a permanent status change, and not make this designation a convenient way to censure the country for its political decisions or foreign policy without evidence.
There is perhaps unanimous agreement that Pakistan should never have been included in the CSPA list in the first place—and this notion is vindicated by the fact that our inclusion lasted only a year. Pakistan does not, and did not support any non-state armed group; nor any entity recruiting or using child soldiers.
At the time of its inclusion in the list, Pakistan was in compliance with and had enacted several laws to eliminate human trafficking, including the Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Acts; the National Action Plan 2021-25 prepared jointly by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and regular coordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There is no logical explanation for why Pakistan was randomly enlisted, considering there are many countries with far worse records that were not given the same treatment.
It is good that the US realised its mistake and rectified it, yet this arbitrary listing must be addressed by any diplomatic mission going forward. We want to ensure that no such grey-listing happens again, where an incriminating report or list is published without consulting any of our state institutions or without any details provided of the basis on which such conclusions are reached. The foreign ministry must also look to secure guarantees that any adjustments made should amount to a permanent status change, and not make this designation a convenient way to censure the country for its political decisions or foreign policy without evidence.