Global Alliance Needed To Fight Child Issues

Speakers at an international conference on human rights here Tuesday stressed the need for a global alliance to work collectively to secure future generations as protection of child rights was a big challenge.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Feb, 2018 ) :Speakers at an international conference on human rights here Tuesday stressed the need for a global alliance to work collectively to secure future generations as protection of child rights was a big challenge.

They said that dark net had no boundaries as digital technology had made children more vulnerable through disseminating pornographic material easily available for virtual community within seconds from one corner of the world to another.

The speakers recommended substantial policies for not only to ensure fundamental rights of children but also give them a secure, conducive environment for their better upbringing so that they become productive part of the society.

The first ever HR conference titled, "Owing Human Rights for a Better World" was organized by the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR). Two sessions were held to focuson "Protecting Women and Children under National and International Frameworks", "Humanity under Climate Change: Environmental Rights are Human Rights".

Addressing the conference, Director General, International Coordination (IC), MOHR, Muhammad Hassan Mangi said Pakistan had passed a number of legislations to protect child rights at Federal as well as provincial level but still lacked appropriate implementation mechanism, capacity building of institutions, statistical data for establishing policies and resources for child rights programming.

Director General, South Asian Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) Dr. Rinchen Chophel said till 1989 children were not recognized as rights holders, but there still was a long way to go to safeguard their rights.

There was a dire need to devise a mechanism for ensuring their rights, review present legislation, take steps to check early child marriages and their right to education and health. Director Social Affairs SAARC Rishfa Rasheed stated that south Asian countries should take steps for empowerment of children, establish legal frame work, capacity building of child rights protecting institutions and establish review and coordination platforms at regional levels Dorothy Rozga, Executive Director, ECPAT International Thailand, shared that they worked on the single agenda "To avoid sexual exploitation of Children", with representatives in 93 countries.

She said advancement of technology had increased fear for violation of child rights manifold. The digital technology, she said, had opened many ways for perpetrators to exploit and abuse children.

"We use term dark net for it". The effects of that dark net were horrifying as it had no boundaries and was accessible to people across the world within no time. She urged for a strong mechanism with the collective efforts to fight the curse for keeping future generations a safe and secure.

Discussing the HR issues related to women, Syeda Abida Hussain, former minister, said despite substantial improvement in women's political and economic rights, there was still a long way to go.

Right of inheritance was still denied to women, she added. She said male child was a priority for most of the society despite the fact how useful, talented and dynamic their girl child was. She further added that another major issue which still remained ignored was rights of domestic servants as no organization was particularly focusing on it.

Fauzia Waqar, Chairperson Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, said gender equality was one of the most important challenges. Authentic statistical data and online data base were other key areas which should be focused on priority, she added.

Jamshed Kazi, Country Representative UN Women Pakistan, discussed that available data of marriages and divorce was far less than the actual facts. There was a dire need of training and capacity building of the staff who work in marriage registration offices, he added.

Khawar Mumtaz, Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women, paid tribute to the services of Asma Jahangir. She said Pakistan had worked a lot on legislation for protecting rights of masses including women, children, minorities and other vulnerable groups.

She said the government established an independent commission for women in 2012 which not only monitored the government for their commitments at national level but also checked the service delivery of HR institutions and do legislation for women. The three-day conference will conclude on Wednesday.