Stakeholders welcome new minister for HR

Islamabad : Activists, organisations, alliances and commissions working on human rights have expressed hope that the new Federal Minister of Human Rights Shirin Mazari would be able to effectively address the core issues related to rights violations in the country.

Talking to 'The News', the stakeholders welcomed the appointment of a strong woman as Federal Minister for Human Rights. “We welcome the appointment of strong human rights minister and look forward to having stronger monitoring and response mechanisms on human rights violations in the country,” said Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Khawar Mumtaz.

With regards to women rights, Khawar said that women issues are deeply entrenched in the social mindset. “Implementation of laws on human rights especially those related to women would be the biggest challenge for the new minister,” she commented.

Chairperson National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) Justice (r) Ali Nawaz Chowhan also welcomed the appointment of new Federal Minister expressed hope that she would strengthen and empower the Commissions established to protect the right of people in the country.

“The Commissions are not provided enough funds to exercise their mandate independently. Only strong, independent and empowered Commissions could help the government in monitoring rights violation and implementation of laws,” he said.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairman Dr Mehdi Hasan said that most of the time, rights violation is committed by the government departments such as police, agencies and other linked departments. “We will have to see how successful she will be in holding them accountable,” he said adding that the rights situation of vulnerable and deprived sections of the society is alarming. “Whenever required, we could provide her all reports compiled by the commission and could also brief her on the existing situation,” he said.

Co-Chair of Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls Alliance (EVAWG) Ambreen Ajaib also welcomed Shirin Mazari as the new Federal Minister of Human Rights. “She is well aware of the situation of human rights in the country and has all the capacity to take stand and action over issues which usually remain ignored,” she said.

Ambreen suggested regular consultations between the new minister and representatives of the organization working on human rights. “This will not only lead to better understanding and coordination between non-government stakeholders and the government but will also keep the minister updated about the on ground situation,” she said.

Commenting on the first speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the nation, she appreciated the pro people steps announced by the new Prime Minister but suggested him to take right-based approach instead of welfare approach. “We also urge engagement of women in all policy decisions. The number of women in the cabinet is very low as compared to men. The next step is the formation of Standing Committees. We expect more women Chairpersons of the Standing Committee as compared to past,” she said.

She said that there are many past human rights initiatives which need attention. “Last year, the civil society organizations developed guidelines for Gender Based Violence for Ministry of Human Rights. The guidelines await approval and implementation. Similarly, there are certain funds available with the ministry to help victims but these funds are not accessible because of the complicated procedures,” said Ambreen adding that she also hopes lesser involvement of departments other than the ministry and related commissions, in the approval of policies. “Such involvement causes undue delays.”

Executive Director Aurat Foundation Naeem Mirza said he also has high hopes from the new minister since she had insight into various issues of human rights and its violations. "A country is recognized as civilized because of its human rights record. If we fail to protect our women and girls and religious minorities from violence and abuse, this in fact would be a big failure", he said.

"The Human Rights Ministry should actually probe the idea of private and public partnerships in pre-emptive strategies to cope with HR violations, for instance, setting up 'Gender and Human Rights Cells' in police stations or legal help sections under local governments", said Mirza.