People urged to inform govt about child rights violation

LAHORE : Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Ejaz Alam Augustine has asked the people to inform the government about any violation of child rights.

He stated this while addressing a seminar jointly organised by the Punjab Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Department, Society for the Protection of Child Rights, and Save the Children at a local hotel to mark the World Day against Child Labour.

Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Ejaz Alam Augustine was the chief guest of the occasion. Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) Punjab Chairperson Sarah Ahmed along with other members of the Punjab Assembly attended the event. The minister told the seminar participants that Pakistan was included in those countries which had signed a number of international agreements to ensure protection to child rights, calling for immediate and effective measures to end child labour and forced labour. The government has taken a number of steps to prevent violence against children, but “we all, as responsible citizens, need to fully support the government and bring to its notice any violation of child rights.”

Ejaz Alam emphasised that provision of quality education to children was a constitutional right of children while the constitution of Pakistan had provisions related to child education and labour.

He appealed to the nation to take part in the campaign for creating awareness about child rights. He stated that the Punjab government had got approved the domestic workers bill from the Punjab Assembly and it was showing good results. “We all have to discourage those elements who are forcing their children towards beggary,” he added. Child Protection and Welfare Bureau Chairperson Sarah Ahmed said that child labour was an important issue related to child protection not only in Pakistan but all over the world. She said that the CPWB was working on legal framework in collaboration with other departments to prevent child abuse and ensure their welfare. She said that a nursing training course for girls residing in the bureau had been started.