Lahore: The United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has recommended Pakistani government to criminalise enforced disappearances in its concluding remarks on Pakistan’s first ever review following the country’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The commission has asked the government to investigate all known cases of disappearances and extra judicial killings and penalise those responsible for these acts. It has held that the government should ensure that penalties are ‘commensurate with the gravity of crimes’. The report calls upon the government to ensure protection of families of disappeared persons and their lawyers and witnesses, and that a mechanism is put in place for full and prompt reparation for victims and their families. “It [the government] should further strengthen the authority and the capacity, financial and personnel, of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance,” the report said. To check the abuse of the anti-terrorism act, the report asks the government to bring the definition of terrorism provided in Article 6 of the law in accordance with international standards. In particular, the report seeks removal of the ATC courts’ jurisdiction over juvenile offenders, repeal of Section 21-H of the Act (concerning conditional admissibility of confession), introduction of procedural safeguards in the Act and to bring ATC court proceedings in line with Articles 14 and 15 of the ICCPR to ensure fair trials. On the matter on military courts, the government has been asked to abrogate their jurisdiction over civilians as well as their authority to impose the death penalty. Like the ATCs, the proceedings of military courts should also be brought in conformity with Articles 14 and 15 of the ICCPR, the commission has noted. The commission has sought repeal of all blasphemy laws or their amendment to bring them in compliance with strict requirements of the Covenant. It has asked the government to ‘ensure that all those who incite or engage in violence against others based on allegations of blasphemy as well as those who falsely accuse others of blasphemy are brought to justice and duly punished’. Other recommendations are regarding adequate protection of judges, prosecutors, lawyers and witnesses involved in blasphemy cases; thoroughly and promptly investigated and perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, punished; thorough and prompt investigation in cases of hate speech and hate crimes; review of school textbooks and curricula with a view to removing all religiously biased content and incorporation of human rights education and regulation of affairs of madrassas. The commission has particularly asked the government to fully implement the June 19, 2014, judgement of the Supreme Court. The commission also discussed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act of 2016, seeking revisions to bring it in line with government’s obligations under the ICCPR. It sought establishment of independent oversight mechanisms on the implementation of the PECA, including judicial review of surveillance activities. It also sought review of laws and practices of intelligence sharing with foreign agencies; and of all licensing requirements that impose obligations on network service providers to engage in communication surveillance, particularly in relation to indiscriminate data retention. It asked the government to adopt a comprehensive data protection law in line with international standards. On the matter on freedom of expression, the commission has asked the government to decriminalise defamation to ensure that imprisonment is never a punishment for defamation and that criminal laws are not improperly enforced on journalists and dissenting voices in general. The government has been asked to ‘review its legal provisions relating to freedom of expression, including Article 19 of the Constitution, the rules applicable to the PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007, and the Code of Conduct for programmes and advertisement for broadcast media and distribution services, with a view to putting in place effective oversight mechanisms and procedural safeguards and bringing them in line with Article 19 of the Covenant’. The government has been asked to ‘promptly and thoroughly investigate all reported cases of harassment, disappearances and killing of human rights defenders. On the matter of violence against women, the commission has sought expedited efforts towards adoption of laws relating to violence against women that are still under consideration at federal and provincial levels and effective enforcement of anti-honour killings, anti-rape, and other relevant laws criminalising violence against women including domestic violence. Other recommendations are effective enforcement of prohibition of the application of qisas and diyat laws in so-called honour-related crimes and provision of necessary legal, medical, financial and psychological support tro victims. The commission has also asked the government to ensure that judges, prosecutors and law enforcement authorities continue to receive appropriate trainings that equip them to deal with cases of violence against women effectively and in a gender-sensitive manner. It has asked that the number of female police officers should be increased to an adequate level. The government has also been asked to review its legislation to ensure that legal restrictions do not prompt women to resort to unsafe abortions that may endanger their lives and health. “It should also take all measures necessary to combat the stigma associated with abortion; ensure the provision of safe voluntary termination of pregnancy by trained medical providers; ensure ready and affordable access to post-abortion health care services throughout the country; and improve access to affordable contraception and sexual and reproductive health education and services including for adolescents and disadvantaged women and girls in rural areas,” the report notes. On the issue of death penalty, the government has been asked to reinstate a moratorium lifted in the wake of the 2014 attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School and to consider abolition of capital punishment altogether. If it is to be retained, the commission has urged that in no instance should it be imposed on juvenile offenders or those with serious psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and in cases other than extremely serious crimes involving intentional killings. The commission has also taken exception to a perceived lack of autonomy and efficacy of the National Commission on Human Rights, particularly in reported instances of rights violations involving intelligence agencies and armed forces. It has asked the government to adopt all legislative, policy and institutional measures necessary to ensure that the commission is able to carry out its mandate fully and in an effective and independent manner, and in conformity with principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. Major recommendations to the government * Criminalise enforced disappearances * Bring definition of terrorism in the ATA in line with international standards * Abrogate military courts’ jurisdiction over civilians * Repeal blasphemy laws or amend them to ensure conformity with ICCPR * Decriminalise defamation * Ensure protection of judges, lawyers and families involved in enforced disappearance and blasphemy cases * Reinstate moratorium on death penalties * Strengthen the NCHR to ensure that it is able to carry out its mandate effectively. Published in Daily Times, July 28th , 2017.