Government of Punjab should implement Child Rights Convention : Abdullah Malik

Lahore : The civil society organizations including Civil Society Network and Centre for Human Rights Education have expressed deep concerns over the negligence of the Government of Punjab in resolving the issues related to child abduction and their exploitation. They have strongly condemned the attitude of the concerned elected representatives, and the departments for their failure to fulfill their duties and obligations to protect the lives of the innocent children and to end the wave of fear and terror prevailing particularly in Lahore.

The Government of Punjab does not seem serious in resolving the issues of the protection of the Children as defined in the Child Rights Convention of which Pakistan is signatory and also are guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan. It is very sad to mention that there has been no meeting held of the Board of Governors of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau for last 8 years whose Patron in Chief is the Chief Minister of the Province,

It is the negligence of the government that most populated areas of the cities like Lahore lack the facilities for the Children such as Parks, Playgrounds, educational institutions, rehabilitation and counseling centers and even if the facilities are available, the parents cannot send their children because of security concerns.

Abdullah Malik, the President of the Civil Society Network said that "we appreciate the Supreme Court of Pakistan for taking Suo Moto notice on the gross violations of the rights of the  children in the province, however the Government of Punjab and its concerned institutions are trying to mislead the Supreme Court by submitting fake figures in the honourable court. The government should not play with figures but rather it should understand that it is the matter of the precious lives of future generation.

He further said that "situation tell the story very clearly that as the provincial government have even remained unable to establish effective mechanisms under the Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan which guarantees free education for the children of the age between 5-16 years.

Mr. Malik demanded that "the Government of Punjab should review its VVIP Protocol provisions and 13000 security personnel deployed for the 413 VIPs of Lahore should be withdrawn and these personnel should be deployed to safeguard people.

Mr. Malik also appreciated committed human rights activists, and the police officers who are seriously working to resolve the issues related to child protection.

Samson Salamat, Director of the Centre for Human Rights Education said that the policy of denial creates more problems and therefore the Government should admit its negligence and should wholeheartedly start working to resolve the problems.

Samson Salamat suggested that "the Government should constitute a Provincial Commission on the Status of Children to assess their situation and recommend for an effective legislation and policy for the protection of the children. He further suggested that an independent inquiry committee should be constituted to assess the performance of the all the departments who were suppose to protect the rights of the children, however they were not able to fulfill their duty fully.