Preparation of draft for systematic mechanism of child protection law in process

Islamabad

Federal Ministry of Human Rights is in the process of drafting legislation for systematic mechanism of child protection and a bill in this regard would soon be presented before the Law Reform Committee (LRC).

The information was shared by Ministry of Human Rights Director General Muhammad Hassan Mangi at a consultation organised by National Child Protection Center (NCPC) in collaboration with Rozan.

Mangi said that the ministry has already submitted Juvenile Justice Reforms System Bill 2015 before Law Reforms Committee (LRC). “Protection of every child is the responsibility of the state. We have good laws for child rights but the issue s that of effective implementation,” he said.

He said that Islamabad is the most developed city of the country, but there are around 40,000 children living in slums in and around the city. He remarked that accountability can improve the service delivery of institutions and only those countries develop rapidly who ensure protection of their children.

AIG Operations, ICT, Ashar Hammed said that criminal justice system of the country is not supportive for children as jails have become factories for criminals. He suggested police refresher courses and training workshops especially for investigation officers on how to treat children. He said community support is imperative for police as it cannot work in isolation.

NCPC Director Muhammad Yousaf Shah suggested a network for child protection starting from union council level up to the federal level so that community related child related issues can be addressed.

He said that since its inception of NCPC in 2007, it has reunified 3586 children. He informed that main objectives of NCPC is Protection of Children Rights, Provision of temporary shelter and rehabilitation to the homeless, street and runaway children and provision of counseling and referral services to abused and exploited children.

Law consultant for Ministry of Human Rights, Sharafat Chaudhry, briefed participants of the meeting with the details of Child Protection and Welfare Bill 2015. He said that the bill will be finalised in next few days. He said that one third of the bill deals with the social reintegration of the child involved in a crime. The age limit of a child defined by the bill is 18 years with some exceptions in category of heinous crimes.

Chaudhry said that the bill has 62 sections and combines many under process legislations on child protection and child rights. The meeting had a detailed discussion on the bill at the end.