Annual report of Ministry of Human Rights launched

Islamabad:Work on Enforced Disappearance Bill is moving forward on fast track. Prime Minister Imran Khan, in last cabinet meeting, has given clear instructions to the Ministry of Law for speeding up the consultative process on the draft legislation so that the bill could move to the next stage.

The status of Enforced Disappearance Bill as well as other pending laws was shared by the Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari at the launch of Ministry’s Annual Performance Report 2020 held on Monday.

The report highlights significant initiatives undertaken to protect and promote rights of women, children, persons with disabilities, transgenders, and other vulnerable population groups. The report also includes chapters on the Ministry’s progress in projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP); special initiatives launched to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic; and well as the engagements of the Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari.

She said that the Journalist Protection Bill is also ready to be tabled in the Parliament. “After opposition’s objection in the Parliament, we were instructed for consultation with the Ministry of Information to decide which draft bill shall be presented for approval. It has been decided that the draft proposed by present government shall be presented as it was prepared after consultation from all stakeholders. Ministry of Law also pointed out some legal issues which have been addressed as well. It will now come to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation (CCLC) and after approval from there, it will be tabled in the Parliament.”

Responding to a question regarding delays in the Ministry of Law, she said that all stakeholders has to be consulted before passing a legislation. “It brings huge pressure on the Law Ministry. Considering this, Committee on Constitutional Reforms has taken a decision that in inter-ministerial matters, if a ministry doesn’t receive response from the other ministry in maximum 30 days, it will be considered that they have agreed to it. She said that the decision will be notified soon.

The Federal Minister also talked in detail about the the progress of the Ministry of Human Rights in terms of overcoming gaps in legislation to ensure that the rights of citizens, particularly the vulnerable, are protected. She briefed media persons about the way Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance 2020 was enacted to protect the rights of women who have been victims of gender-based violence.

She said that the amendment to include child domestic labour as a form of hazardous activity under schedule I of the Employment of Children Act 1991 is also an important legislative milestone. “Unfortunately it only applies on Federal capital but we have requested provinces to make amendments in their constitution on the same pattern,” she added. She further spoke about the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act and the ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Act that were enacted in 2020.

The Federal Minister said that Pakistan has comprehensive legislation on human rights but the issue is of effective implementation of these laws. “For this, we are running awareness campaigns and trainings of judiciary and law enforcement agencies.

Besides this, Shireen Mazari also highlighted the Ministry’s progress in terms of strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms including the establishment of the 1099 national helpline application as well as the Zainab alert on the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal for missing children. Video animations developed by the Ministry to raise awareness about these initiatives as well as the recently launched Human Rights Resource Portal were also screened at the event.

Finally, she spoke about special initiatives undertaken to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. This included upgrading the 1099 helpline, an extensive awareness campaign targeting vulnerable social groups, and special research undertaken including a policy brief on the Gendered Impact and Implications of COVID-19 in Pakistan, and a comprehensive report on “COVID-19 and Disaster Vulnerabilities in Pakistan: A human rights based analysis.”