Ministry identified 31,901 cases of human rights violation

Islamabad : The Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) identified total 31,901 cases of human rights violation through print and electronic media monitoring during last five years and received 123,823 calls on its helpline from February 2015 to May 2018. All eligible cases were taken up with the relevant departments for their redressal.

The details were shared by the Minister for Human Rights Mumtaz Tarar on his last day as a Federal Minister at a press conference organised on Thursday. The federal minister, who has recently recovered from serious heart issue and was under treatment in Intensive Care Unit of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology till May 29, addressed the press conference which was organised to share the achievements of the Ministry of Human Rights during last five years.

About the legislative initiatives taken by the ministry, the federal minister mentioned 10 laws passed in last five years to protect the human right. These laws include Criminal Law (offences relating to Rape) Act, 2016, Criminal Law (offences relating to Honour Killing) Act, 2016, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Child Protection), promulgation of National Commission on the Rights of the Child Act, 2017, Hindu Marriage Act, 2017, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018, National Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Act, 2018, Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Act, 2018, The ICT Child Protection Act, 2018 and The Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018.

Among policy and planning initiatives, he said that the ministry worked on formulation and implementation of Action Plan for Human Rights, National Policy Framework for promotion and protection of human rights and Provincial Human Rights Policies besides designing and execution of Men Engage Model Program.

“The Government of Pakistan is committed to ensure human rights of all citizens as envisaged under the Constitution as well as international commitments by adopting all possible measures to ensure protection and promotion of such rights,” said Mumtaz Tarrar while speaking at the press conference.

About institutional mechanisms developed and strengthened in last five years, he said that the Ministry established National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) with a broad mandate and powers to take suo-moto actions. The Ministry of Human Rights notified the NCHR Complaint Rules, 2015 and total 1491cases were registered in NCHR from May 2015 to May 2018.

He said that establishment of National Institute of Human Rights at the cost of Rs58 million for capacity building, training, research and development has been approved; whereas Rs100 (M) Endowment Fund for Free Legal Aid for Poor Victims of Human Rights Violations, was also created. He also mentioned National Task Force (NTF) and Provincial Task Forces (PTFs) as success stories of MoHR.

He said that for awareness raising and capacity building, the ministry organized 80 seminars, launched public awareness campaigns in print and electronic media and developed and distributed information and education material among all sections of the society.

He said that the ministry organized first International Human Rights Conference which was held from Feb 19 to 21, 2018. The conference was attended by more than 350 national and international delegates from twenty countries.