Draft Sindh human rights policy to be shared with stakeholders for review

The Sindh human rights department has decided to take the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and other civil society stakeholders on board for its draft human rights policy before final approval by the provincial cabinet.

The decision was taken at a consultative meeting presided over by Surendar Valasai, the special assistant to the chief minister on human rights. Those who attended the meeting included Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani and Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Wildlife Bangul Khan Mahar.

The draft of the human rights policy has been developed by the provincial human rights department with input from the United Nations Development Program and various human rights activists.

Valasai said Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had been taking keen interest in the human rights policy of the province as the protection and promotion of human rights was among his top priorities.

The special assistant to the CM provided the background of the draft policy and shared that it focused on the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights in compliance with the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, core United Nations human rights treaties ratified by the country and other international obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030) and Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP-Plus) (2014-2023).

Noreen Bashir, the Sindh human rights secretary, informed the meeting that in the preparation of the draft policy, special attention had been given to the economic, social and cultural rights of various groups such as women, children, minorities, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, transgender persons, workers, juveniles and prisoners.

She added that the policy also contained proposals for creating awareness about human rights in society. Ghani suggested that the draft policy should be circulated among the stakeholders, including government departments, civil society organisations and individuals, for review and input to make the policy more inclusive before it was placed before the provincial cabinet. The participants of the meeting endorsed the advice.

Valasai mentioned that there were various complexities involved in human rights, which necessitated a comprehensive framework to synergise the efforts of all the departments in this regard.