LAHORE: A meeting was held to commemorate the struggle of human rights’ defenders and the challenges faced by them.

As an outcome of the meeting it was decided by all the participants that NCHR (National Commission for Human Rights) should be reinstated and made functional as soon as possible.

Members of RNN (Rapid Response Network) recommended that all government institutions cooperate and support them, including the social welfare department (SWD), the women’s development department (WDD), the ministry of human rights, law enforcement agencies and all other departments related to women’s rights. They said that RNN must be taken up on a provincial level to ensure that their outreach was made possible to otherwise inaccessible and remote districts.

These points were highlighted at the rapid response network meeting hosted by the Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre and Democratic Commission of Human Development (DCHD) on Friday, on the eve of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day.

Those who participated in the panel included women’s human rights activists, members of the parliament and members of the Rapid Response Networks from all over the country.This meeting was part of SAFE (Securing Activists for Freedom and Empowerment of Women and Girls) project funded by the European Union (EU) which is working with women HRDs and providing support because of the challenges they face. Both men and women present at the meeting shared their experiences, strategies, and explored the challenges they have personally faced as activists and champions of women’s rights. More than 100 people from all over Pakistan had come and each brought his own insight with them.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2019