Daily Times

The third Commission Meeting of the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) held here on Tuesday.

Presided over the meeting the Chairperson NCRC, Afshan Tehseen, the meeting apprised the participants about Commission’s mandate 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.

She also informed about the NCRC’s operations and programmatic progress since the last meeting.

The Commission Meeting was well-attended with a full quorum of the ex-officio board Members, including Hassan Mangi, DG Human Rights Ministry of Human Rights; Qazi Saleem, Director Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Shamim Mumtaz, MPA; Ijaz Muhammad Khan, Deputy Chief KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission; Rasheed Noor, DS (Law) Ministry of Interior; Manzoor Masih, Member National Commission for Human Rights; whereas, Sarah Ahmad, Chairperson Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Punjab; Marzia Hasnain, Additional Secretary Social Welfare Balochistan, Special education and Human Rights; Abdul Sattar, Additional Secretary Social Welfare Department, and Jahanzaib Khan, Director General Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Alert attended via an onine link. In addition, all four NCRC Members: Hashim Kakar, Balochistan; Dr Rubina Feroze Bhatti, Punjab; Dr Rubina Fareed, ICT; and Iqbal Ahmed Detho, Sindh; and two child members attended the meeting as well.

The Chairperson, Afshan Tehseen, introduced the agenda and 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.

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

The Members lauded the Commission’s progress in advancing child rights issues and its two campaigns: Prevention Against Child Abuse with Goodwill Ambassador Ahsan Khan and Say NO to Child Marriage on International Girl Child Day.

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 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, The 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 165+ child rights complaints, and issues ranging from street children, early child marriage, children in care institutes, and forced conversion.

On a closing note, the 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, service delivery mechanisms, increased access to law and justice, and improved budget allocation across human and child development initiatives.