NCRC Organizes 5th Commission Meeting Of NCRC

The fifth Commission Meeting of the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) convened on December 15 at the Secretariat of the Commission, as stipulated under the Section 3(1) of the National Commission on the Rights of Child Act, 2017 (XXXII of 2017).

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2022 ) :The fifth Commission Meeting of the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) convened on December 15 at the Secretariat of the Commission, as stipulated under the Section 3(1) of the National Commission on the Rights of Child Act, 2017 (XXXII of 2017).

The meeting was presided over by the Chairperson NCRC, Afshan Tehseen Bajwa here on Thursday.

She apprised the participants about the completion of NCRCs first term of operations, progress of the programme as per NCRC mandate and discussed the way forward.

The meeting debated over the finalization of NCRC second Amendment Bill, 2022, its operational and NCRC rules, amendments to be made in recruitment rules, process of hiring as per the approved post, development of its policies and annual report, matters related to compensation and salaries, lobbying the case of additional funds and establishing a child rights fund.

The Commission Meeting was well-attended with a full quorum of the ex-officio Board Members, including.

Arif Baloch - Secretary National Commission on the Status of Women; Ms. Tehreem Kanwal - Assistant Director Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr.Tariq Mahmood - Joint Secretary Ministry of Human Rights; Nadeem Bhatti - DS Ministry of Interior; Ali Abid Naqvi - DO Child Protection Bureau; Mr. Nasir Abbas - SPA Child Protection Bureau; Mr. Ahsan Ayaz - Coordinator National Commission on Human Rights; Ijaz Muhammad Khan - Chief KPCPWC; Ms. Rokiya Taj - Deputy Director Human Rights; Ms. Musarat Jabeen - DG human rights Balochistan and Ms. Hiba Gul - Deputy Director Human Rights Baluchistan.

In addition, all five NCRC Members: Jawadullah, KP; Hashim Kakar, Balochistan; Dr. Rubina Feroze Bhatti, Punjab; Dr. Rubina Fareed, ICT; and Mr. Iqbal Ahmed Detho, Sindh; and two child members Faryal and Mr. Tajdar attended the meeting as well.

The Chairperson presented the Commission's activities and progress in delivering its mandate, the challenges faced over the year, and the action plan for the upcoming quarter.

During the meeting it was identified as how the Commission's mandate is to examine and review laws and policies, inquire into violation of child rights, and advise the Government about ratifying international treaties as per its terms and conditions. It was also presented to the board that Under 15(e) and 15(k) of NCRC Act 2017, NCRC is exercising quasi-judicial powers to address complaints of child rights violation. The complaint handling is one of the priorities of the Commission and till date it has dealt with 267 complaints. These complaints are resolved through proper inquiry and investigation. Also, recently, NCRC summoned ICT police officials and police record over custodial torture of minors and submitted its inquiry report to Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights and presented some recommendation.

The senate standing committee endorsed the recommendation of NCRC to notify: Police Order 2002 in ICT, Rules of Juvenile Justice System Act 2018 at Federal and Provincial level for protection of children; to develop a specialized mechanism for provision of free legal aid to Juvenile victims in ICT and to establish Observation Centers and Juvenile Rehabilitation Centers in ICT.

And recently the Police order has been formally notified in Islamabad. In another complaint, DCO Attock was asked to conduct inquiry on expulsion of students of minorities from a private school on the basis of religious discrimination. The environmental impact of polluted water waste tank on health of Students of neighboring charitable school in Faisalabad is being assessed.

In the meeting it was also brought to notice of the board that due to NCRC's interventions and recommendations, Islamabad High Court/Honourable Justice Babar Sattar initially constituted a committee by including NCRC as a member for identifying the referral and redressal mechanisms required for fully functioning child protection institutes in Islamabad and strengthening of NCRC. On 30th November 2022, the Chief Commissioner ICT has also notified a committee to ensure effective compliance of Islamabad Child Protection Act, 2018 and National Commission on the Rights of Child Act, 2017.

In response, the meeting's participants unanimously endorsed the previous meeting's minutes and the key activities and decisions of NCRC.

The Members appreciated the Commission's progress in creating visibility and spreading awareness about the programme on social media and other platforms, and also in development of Policy Briefs on Domestic Child Labour, Child Marriage, Forced Conversions and Street Children in Pakistan.

In the Meeting, the Chairperson called on the National and Provincial Governments, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to support the NCRC in its functioning as per its mandate for strengthening child rights policy frameworks and resolving child rights issues in Pakistan.

The Chairperson further reiterated her resolve to make the Commission one of the most swiftly working bodies in Pakistan. She emphasized that children of today are the future of tomorrow and a national commitment is necessary to safeguard their rights. Since its inception, NCRC has been instrumental in advancing child rights by proposing nationwide and provincial policy recommendations, engagement with parliamentarians, and awareness-raising campaigns.

Till date, the Commission has followed up on 267 child rights complaints, and issues ranging from street children, early child marriage, children in care institutes, and forced conversion.

On a closing note, NCRC called upon all the stakeholders to center children and the youth in the national development agenda, especially given that the under-18 population makes up almost half of Pakistan's demographic. The Commission recommended better policy frameworks, interprovincial coordination, service delivery mechanisms, increased access to law and justice, and improved budget allocation across human and child development initiatives. It was also recommended that all the provinces, authorities and bureaus need to be aligned together and work more closely to address the agenda of child rights.