Ministry to hold awareness workshops on HR in universities

Islamabad

To sensitise youth about the importance of human rights, the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) plans to organise awareness workshops and symposiums in universities around the country.

Minister of State for Human Rights Zafarullah Khan issued directives in this regard while chairing a meeting of ministry officials on Friday. The meeting was called to discuss matters related to the implementation of National Action Plan for Human Rights approved by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif recently. The meeting mainly focused on Christian Marriage Bill and establishment of Human Rights Institute of Pakistan.

Minister of State said that sensitisation and education of the youth of the country on the importance of human rights is the need of the hour. “The ministry will not leave any stone unturned by employing all the available resources to arrange workshops and symposiums at the university level throughout the country,” he said.

The meeting deliberated on the salient features of National Action Plan for Human Rights including Protection of Women Rights, Protection of Child Rights, Protection of Minorities and Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The aim of the action plan is to redress the concerns of vulnerable segments of the society and prevention of human rights violations.

The meeting was informed that the Ministry of Finance has already approved Rs150 million for the implementation of National Action Plan.

The minister of state for human rights stressed that action plan should be implemented in letter and spirit according to the timeframe allocated to all the activities. He said that a task force will be established under the supervision of Federal Minister for Human Rights that will watch the effective implementation of the National Action Plan for Human Rights.

The minister also directed the ministry officials to expedite the process of land acquisition for the Human Rights Institute of Pakistan.