25 govt officials trained on HR reporting obligations

LAHORE:Over 25 government officials have received two-day training on “Pakistan’s International Human Rights Reporting Obligations” organised by European Union funded ‘Promotion of Human Rights in Pakistan (Huqooq-e-Pakistan Project).

The training which was opened by Punjab Human Rights Secretary Nadeem-ur Rehman was aimed at enhancing technical and operational capacities of the officials of Punjab Human Rights & Minority Affairs Department and the Punjab Treaty Implementation Cell in reporting and implementation of international human rights commitments of Pakistan.

The training modules and manual were designed by Huqooq-e-Pakistan (HeP) but delivered by international and local experts from Amnesty International and Justice Project Pakistan under the leadership of HeP Senior Key Expert Ali Dayan Hasan.

Punjab Minister for Human Rights & Minority Affairs Ejaz Alam Augustine commended the efforts made by Huqooq-e-Pakistan project in developing a flagship human rights training and capacity-building programme for Pakistan. He stated that the curriculum designed by the team is the first of its kind, designed wholly within Pakistan and one that looks at International Treaty Body Reporting from a Pakistani perspective whilst upholding international standards.

“I am happy that while the training materials were designed by the HeP team, it was delivered in partnership by officials of Amnesty International and Justice Project Pakistan. It is of utmost importance that international organisations, like Amnesty, engage with the government of Pakistan in collaborative ways such as this training,” the minister said. “The Human Rights Department welcomes the efforts of HeP and hopes this engagement will deepen in the months and years to come,” the minister added. He stated that the training will help in equipping the department with the pre-requisite information required in fulfilling their mandates with respect to international human rights reporting.

Co-trainer, Omar Waraich, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, appreciated the efforts made by the provincial government and by Huqooq-e-Pakistan in strengthening Pakistan’s human rights reporting mechanisms. He added, It was a pleasure to teach high quality training modules designed by HeP at an international standard with a key emphasis on Pakistan’s context”.

Senior Key Expert, Huqooq-e-Pakistan program, Ali Dayan Hasan gave an overview of the Huqooq-e-Pakistan programme and training objectives. He stated that the training programme is designed in consultation with human rights stakeholders to ensure that the trainings reflected Pakistan’s realities and perspectives.

“Huqooq-e-Pakistan is the only human rights capacity-building project on this scale undertaken by the EU anywhere in the world which aims to foster relations between the EU and Pakistan by aiding Pakistan in meeting its human rights reporting obligations.

It, therefore, represents positive and constructive human rights diplomacy,” added Ali Dayan Hasan. The EU Promotion of Human Rights in Pakistan (Huqooq-e-Pakistan) is a European Union (EU) funded programme with the objective of supporting the continued efforts of the Government of Pakistan for the promotion of human rights. At the end of the training, Minister Ejaz Alam Augustine and Ali Dayan Hasan awarded certificates to qualifying participants.