Child Rights Governance in Pakistan

Pakistan ratified the Child Rights Convention (CRC) in 1990, with attached reservations regarding interpretation and consistency with Islamic laws. After review, these reservations were withdrawn. Underlining public recognition of children rights as a priority, the National Commission for Children Welfare and Development (NCCWD) was established in 1980, with the mandate to coordinate and implement CRC in Pakistan. A National Core Committee and thematic expert committees (e.g. health, education) were constituted to provide further impetus to prioritization of children rights.

UNCRC ratification provided the necessary push to review, revise, consolidate, and align existing legislation, which was marked with contradictions, and few corresponding institutional arrangements or capacities to implement in line with the framework. The most significant achievements in policy and legislative sphere include enactment of laws around primary education, bonded labor, juvenile justice, national plan of action for children, national and regional child protection and welfare and CRC Optional Protocol on child trafficking. However, even where supporting legislation existed, there were gaps in supporting roles, coordination, capacities, resources and institutional will to ensure compliance in social welfare, labor, health, education, and other sectors.

After passage of 18th amendment, the services and line departments have devolved to the provinces. Though a well-intentioned step to empower and support local and regional governance, yet, it is loaded with potential to create regional disparities, inequalities as more resourceful provinces would be better positioned to advance and implement child protection agenda. To an extent it underscores the need for broader calibration, coordination and intensification of development efforts by development partners to address the children needs in provinces marked with greater deprivation and resources constraints. While two decades of concerted efforts and significant resource inputs have contributed to advancing children rights, much remains to be done.

Although 18^th Constitutional amendment was praised widely by civil society and political parties, however many government departments were puzzled due to lack of understanding of their roles and responsibilities and less grounding. This confusion halted process of enactment a number of crucial child rights bills which were being deliberated upon at the national level. Many of the proposed laws had already gone through a number of steps, including a range of consultative processes with relevant stakeholders, back and forth between various ministries, parliamentary committees, the cabinet division, the Council of Islamic Ideology and provincial governments. With the amendment, the legislative process at the national level has come to a standstill and the fate of these proposed laws remains unclear.

There is no children related legislation in Baluchistan, while newly enacted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection Welfare Act requires rules of business for proper implementation of law. Beside, available legislation there are number of laws which needs to be enacted/adopted  by provinces to protect children from different children related issues including child labor,  education, corporal punishment, child marriages and sexual abuse.

There are also number of national child protection bills pending in national assembly due to less priority and ambiguities among interdepartmental confusions

Currently, Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, the Charter of Child Rights Bill, the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, the Child Marriages Restraint (Amendment) and National Commission on the Rights of Children bill are pending at national level.

Free and Compulsory Education Acts and Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Acts are required to be enacted in all provinces. Employment of Children Acts is needed to be adopted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Baluchistan Governments. Borstal Institute Bills should be enacted by Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments; While, Baluchistan Child Protection and Welfare Act Bill is much due to absence of any legislation in the deprived province.