Rights of special children highlighted

LAHORE:National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) conducted a one-day consultative meeting on the promotion and protection of the rights of children with disabilities at NCRC office on Wednesday.

More than 30 participants including lawyers, child protection experts, govt representatives, civil society organisations and other stakeholders attended the meeting, which was held to highlight the problems faced by children with disabilities and to discuss the role of all stakeholders.

The issues of health, education, in mainstreaming, mobility, social attitude (stigma, pity, isolation), sports and culture, independent livelihood, and employment were also discussed in the meeting.

The stakeholders recommended implementation of laws, strengthening the functions of institutions, provision of comprehensive data, capacity building of staff of institutions, awareness raising and sensitisation for mainstreaming children with disabilities. They also called for developing the protection system, coordination and cooperation among the stakeholders, prevention of diseases in early childhood, early detection and management of child abuse.

According to the World Health Organisation’s report on disability, about one billion people in the world live with a disability, including at least 1 in 10 children and 80% of those are living in developing countries. According to the 1998 census, 2.49% and according to the 2017 census, 0.48% of the population in Pakistan had a disability.

Speaking on the occasion, NCRC Chairperson Afshan Tehseen Bajwa said Pakistan being signatory to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is obliged to have a mechanism for implementation. There are 107 laws regarding child rights but there is lack of implementation of laws and infrastructure for differently-abled children in the buildings, markets, hotels, hospitals and educational institutes, parks etc, she said.

Chief Guest Ch Shafiq, Chief Executive of Parliamentarians Commission on Human Rights appreciated NCRC and said the govt should provide support to the commission.