ISLAMABAD: Twenty iconic buildings in the country, including the Quaid-i-Azam Residency in Ziarat will be lit up in blue on Wednesday night to commemorate 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and World Children’s Day.

Among these buildings is the Quaid-i-Azam Flagstaff House and Mazar-i-Quaid in Karachi, Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore and the Prime Minister Secretariat, the Presidency, and the Parliament building in Islamabad, besides the provincial assembly buildings in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.

In Pakistan, Unicef and the human rights ministry are pushing children’s agenda forward through a legislative review of the child rights legislation at the federal and provincial levels, and a host of other initiatives.

“As one of the countries that ratified the CRC within a year of its adaption, Pakistan has made significant strides to prioritise children’s issues. However, a lot more needs to be done,” said Unicef Representative in Pakistan, Aida Girma. “Poverty and social norms are impediments that continue to hold our children back. These must be overcome through collective and accelerated efforts to ensure that all children get equal and all rights everywhere in Pakistan,” she said.

The objective of the legislative review is to assess the compliance of existing laws with CRC and the 2016 recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to Pakistan. The process has helped identify gaps and recommend actions in view of accelerating the realisation of child rights across the country.

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari in a message stated that the present government was not only implementing its legal obligations but also undertaking initiatives to counter malnutrition, provide proper healthcare and education to all children.

The ministry of human rights had adopted a right-based approach to fulfilling obligations to the nation’s children.

The Unicef has also organised lessons on the CRC and consultations with children and adolescents in all the provincial capitals, resulting in a “Charter of Demand” which will be presented to the President of Pakistan during an event organised by the Ministry of Human Rights and Unicef in Islamabad to be held in early December.

An exhibition of artwork produced by children to highlight their rights will also be exhibited at the event.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2019