QUETTA: The participants and speakers at a strategic planning consultative workshop on Tuesday urged the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) to strengthen inter-provincial coordination, support capacity building and give advice on laws for the promotion and protection of child rights, particularly in Balochistan.

Cabinet members, officials from government departments, police and prison staff, and civil society and trade union representatives who attended the workshop underscored the need for strengthening and empowerment of the NCRC through amending the National Commission on the Rights of Child Act, 2017, so that the commission could operate as an independent national human rights institution as required by the international standards known as Paris Principles.

Parliamentary Secretary on Minority Affairs Khalil George, Additional Law Secretary Shaukat Ali, Additional Secretary for Social Welfare Marzia Hussain, DIG Prisons Ziaullah, chief of Child Protection, Unicef, Micalea Pasini, NCRC Chairperson Afshan Tehseen, NCRC member Mohammad Hashim Kakar and representatives of civil society organisations attended the workshop.

NCRC chairperson Tehseen in her opening remarks said that children make up 48 per cent of the population but their voices are not heard in the policymaking process. There is hardly any law and policy to take care of an estimated 25 million out of school children, most of whom end up as street children, she added.

Ms Tehseen said that children are the most important asset of any society and need attention at all levels, including in policymaking. “It is important to ensure genuine and meaningful participation of children.”

Dr Gerida Berukila, Chief of Field Office, Unicef, Balochistan, highlighted the mandate of her organisation towards child rights and their protection in Pakistan, and identified the need for closer coordination between key stakeholders in Balochistan. She welcomed the NCRC’s initiative of developing a strategy which will give a clear direction in terms of its mandate.

Additional Secretary, Social Welfare Marzia Hussain said that a child rights commission under her department is already working at the provincial level which would collaborate with the NCRC and extend all possible support.

Additional Law Secretary Shaukat Ali assured that his department would prioritise child rights laws and get the pending rule of business approved. He also stressed that the NCRC should facilitate inter-provincial coordination on child rights.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2021