Implementation of child right laws urged

LAHORE : A network of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) working for protection of children’s rights demanded the government devise a strategy to ensure implementation of children related laws.

Addressing a press conference arranged by an NGO, a child rights activist Iftikhar Mubarik shared that three years had been passed since Pakistan received Concluding Observations and Recommendations by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (June 2016). Since there is dire need to follow up with relevant ministries and departments at provincial level to track the progress of implementation as next periodic report of Pakistan will be due in 2021. Iftikhar Mubarik demanded Chief Minister Usman Buzdar supervise the formulation of comprehensive child protection policy that must be a guiding document for all government departments and authorities thus its mandate must be broader.

Waqas Abid, the NGO’s another activist showed his deep concern over incidents of cruelty with child domestic workers. Rashida Qureshi stressed on raising the age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years by amending “The Punjab Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2015. Qazi Ehsan demanded formulation of rules of “The Punjab Free & Compulsory Education Act 2004” for effective implementation of law which was enacted in compliance with Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan. Naqsh Nasir highlighted the need of availability of credible data about child labour, violence against children and out-of-school children.