ISLAMABAD: Up to 67pc of births go unregistered, a parliamentary panel was informed on Monday.

At a meeting of the Senate special committee on the issue of increasing incidents of child abuse Mohammad Arshad, the director general of the Ministry of Human Rights, said only 33pc of births are registered in Pakistan.

The meeting was chaired by Senator Nuzhat Sadiq and attended by senators Sitara Ayaz, Mohammad Ali Khan Saif and Mushtaq Ahmed as well as representatives from Unicef and the human rights ministry.

Take a look: A child’s first right

Mr Arshad said that in the absence of data, policies are made on the basis of projected figures. However, he said sufficient laws are in place for the protection of children and the issue is of implementation.

He said the non-registration of a child between the ages of one and five is a violation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Senate panel on increase in child abuse incidents told policies based on projected figures in absence of data

He added that the ministry was taking steps to coordinate with provincial authorities to better implement child protection laws and inter-agency protocols are being developed for better and effective coordination.

Members of the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the ministry and the provincial authorities, saying the organisations’ role was not up to the mark.

The committee, while being briefed on the 2016 Balochistan Child Protection Act, said there should be no role of government officials in child protection commissions.

Senator Saif said that according to international commitments the government’s only role is to provide patronage and financial assistance to any commission while the latter keeps a check on the government’s performance on child protection.

Senator Ahmed said there should be uniformity in laws related to child protection in all the provinces. Without proper data, he said, planning cannot be carried out in this regard.

The committee also expressed concern over reports of children being trafficked from Pakistan to Iran and called for strict action against those involved.

Senator Saif remarked that if a child is not provided education and medical treatment, this also falls under the category of child abuse.

Earlier in the meeting, the committee was displeased by the absence of the human rights minister and secretary at the meeting, saying the government was ignoring parliamentary committees.

IGP, chief commissioner briefing

At the request of Senator Saif, the committee also sought a briefing from the inspector general of police Islamabad (IGP) and the Islamabad chief commissioner to bring an end to begging by children in the capital, at its next meeting.

Senator Sadiq said the committee wishes to begin a drive from Islamabad to discourage begging by children, as minors and even infants were being exploited on the roads of the capital for the purposes of begging by their parents.

The committee has also decided to visit the National Protection Centre in the coming days to check its capacity.

The senators also decided that they would begin a campaign after the briefing by the chief commissioner and IGP.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2018