ISLAMABAD, Dec 8: Speakers at a sustainable development conference here on Thursday stressed the need to take stringent measures for safeguarding children’s rights and protecting them against diseases. The three-day conference has been organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Dr Rita Pandey from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, said children were more vulnerable to diseases than adults due to their higher breathing and metabolism rate, which resulted in increased absorption of pollutants in proportion to their body weight.

Discussing concerns and challenges to children’s health in Palestine, Dr Mahmood A. Khawaja of the Palestinian Primary Health Care Department, said the continued violence in his country had not only led to child mortality but also posed new threats to their survival and health.

From September 2000 to December 2003, he said, 15,000 children had been injured, of whom 30 per cent were permanently disabled. He stressed the need for lobbying to implement international laws to protect children.

A documentary titled “Mother, sister, daughter: the violence they face” by Bandana Rana depicted the violation of women’s rights in Nepal.

Sabiha Sumar’s Khamosh Pani highlighted the violence that took place during the partition of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Zahida Hina explained the role of the British Raj, Christian missionaries and East India Company in women’s education and emancipation in the subcontinent.

She appreciated the contribution of Rashidul Khairi, Maulvi Mumtaz, Deputy Nazir Ahmad and Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali in promotion of women’s rights by producing magazines and opening schools.

Syed Waqar Shah discussed the role of Bacha Khan and his Khudai Khidmatgar movement in encouraging local women to take part in politics.

Dr A. Karim Ahmed from USA stressed the need to identify and develop environmental health indicators and benchmarks, which provided a means to track the performance of regulatory government agencies with regard to achievement of national and international environmental standards.

Prof Andrey K. Demin from Central Asia focused on the use of tobacco as a development hurdle in Russia and discussed the health consequences of tobacco use in children.

Anandi Mehmood from UK discussed the stories of harmony and memories of co-existence in pre-partition era.

L.J. Saldana emphasized that the contributions of the Christian community in the pre- and post-partition history of Pakistan needed to be publicly acknowledged.