Islamabad : To acquaint judges and prosecution departments in laws pertaining to human rights and their application in the criminal justice system, the Ministry of Human Rights and the Balochistan Judicial Academy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday.
The training intervention is part of the Ministry of Human Rights’ Huqooq-e-Pakistan training and capacity building programme for federal and provincial human rights institutions, funded by the European Union in Pakistan.
The training seeks to deliver human rights training to judges in the province. It is also geared towards raising awareness and increasing understanding of the national human rights framework in Pakistan, as well as international human rights commitments. The programme has been designed to ensure grassroots experiences are shared with judges in order to reduce the gaps in their understanding the specific challenges of women, children and minorities with regards to accessing justice.
The MoU signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Human Rights in Islamabad on Wednesday. Federal Secretary for Human Rights, Rabiya Javeri Agha signed on behalf of the ministry with Syed Anwar Aftab, Director General of the Balochistan Judicial Academy.
Speaking on this occasion, Rabiya Javeri Agha gave an overview of the importance of placing the human rights-based approach at the centre of the justice system. She said that the initiative would enable judges to deliver more nuanced judgements, ensuring adherence to human rights standards and obligations as enshrined in the Constitution of the Pakistan, as well as the international human rights instruments that Pakistan has ratified. “This will help ensure the protection of the rights of the vulnerable while maintaining the rights of the accused,” she said.
In his remarks, Syed Anwar Aftab said that they are delighted to be partnering with MoHR through for training Balochistan’s judges and prosecutors on an unprecedented scale. In April last year, the Ministry of Human Rights also signed a MoU with the Sindh Judicial Academy to collaborate for strengthening the capacity of the Session Court judges in the province of Sindh. Subsequently, over 60 trial court judges have received training under the Huqooq-e-Pakistan programme over the past year. The training was delivered by the Legal Aid Society.