Child protection mechanism to be launched soon, says Mazari

Islamabad : Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari on Friday ensured representatives of Child Rights Movement (CRM) that the mechanism to protect the children would be developed and launched soon in consultation with Ministry of Interior and respective provincial governments.

She said that in a meeting with a delegation of CRM led by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) met Minister for Human Rights Dr. Sherin Mazari.

The meeting was held to discuss the issues of child sexual abuse in Pakistan. The Federal Minister said that the Human Rights Education would be taught in every school and a massive campaign at local level to be launched soon to create awareness about child protection. She said that the Ministry of Human Rights is already working on curriculum development on human rights in consultation with relevant stakeholders at both provincial and national level. "There is a need to change the mindsets of the people on child abuse for which the ministry is planning to conduct the training of police officials and lawyers to tell them how to take up the issue of child abuses," she added.

Syed Kausar Abbas, Director of Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) said that the government needs to develop a plan to counter child sexual abuses at local level through union council level vigilance committees because the increase in cases of child sexual abuse is quiet alarming. "The local councils and school councils can play active role if government should engage them in countering and identifying child abusers at local level." He said that the laws and national action plan is already developed but it needs to be implemented through relevant stakeholders at local level.

The Federal Government should take a lead and call a consultative meeting of all provincial governments to make a strategy for implementation of child protection related laws at local level. Habiba Salman, member of CRM, said that the police does not respond to the cases of child abuses. "There is a need to build the capacity of police on child related crimes and penalty on them is they delay in registering FIR of child sexual abuse. She said that the police needs to take proactive measures to counter the child abusers at local level." Mumtaz Gohar, Coordinator of Sahil, said that the cases of child abuse are increasing rapidly and as per statistics eleven cases are reported on daily basis.

There are hundreds of cases which are not reported anywhere due to reservations of families. He said that the ministry needs to take a lead and put awareness material on child protection in all police stations and schools across the country.

Ishtiaq Gillani from United Global Organisation for Development (UGOOD) said that the National Volunteer Movement needs to be revived to engage the volunteers to report such cases in case of any violation of Human Rights in local areas. The meeting was attended by Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Rabia and Director Hassan Mangi as well.