21:36
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Islamabad
The civil society representatives on Monday urged the government to ratify optional protocol (OP) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UN CRC) which prohibits involvement of children in armed conflict.
They were speaking at a consultation held to discuss ratification of the optional protocol, which has already been ratified by 150 countries. The participants demanded that the government should immediately ratify the optional protocols in the best interest of children. The event was organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).
Despite being among the first 20 countries to sign and ratify the UN CRC, Pakistan has failed to ratify the optional protocol that it has signed way back in October 2001. After ratification, the state will be bound to implement the optional protocol. The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 and entered into force in 2002. Currently, 150 countries have ratified the optional protocol.
The need for this optional protocol was felt and discussed, as Article 38 of the UN CRC was found inconsistent with the principles of child protection. The article mentioned that 15 years old children would not be allowed to take part in direct hostilities and not be recruited into armed forces.
The optional protocol stresses that in the light of definition of a child and in the best interest of the child, no child under the age of 18 should be allowed to involve in hostilities, either directly or indirectly, and that no child under the age of 18 should be recruited into armed forces.
The speakers also demanded that the new optional protocol of UN CRC, which provides a complaint procedure for children, should also be signed by the government. The new optional protocol has been opened for signature from February 28, 2012. It enables children to seek redress for violations of their rights at international level — if national mechanisms have been exhausted.
In his presentation about UN CRC and details of optional protocols, Sparc National Manager Child Rights Iqbal Detho said that once states sign or ratify international conventions, state parties are bound to make their domestic laws in conformity with international obligations. “Furthermore, states are accountable for respecting, protecting and fulfilling even those rights violated by non-state actors.”
In case Pakistan ratifies the Optional Protocol on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, it will have to submit an initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child within two years detailing the steps, which Pakistan has taken to ensure that no child under the age of 18 will be involved directly in any kind of hostilities. Pakistan will also have to increase the age of voluntary recruitment from 15 years to 18 years and there should be no under-18 compulsory recruitment into its armed forces.
Senior Manager Child Rights Governance at Save the Children International Arshad Mahmood said that national and international advocacy could play important role in pressuring countries to implement the UN conventions. Talking about the conventions that have already been ratified, he said, the government ratifies conventions but is weak when it comes to implementation.
Safdar Raza of Plan said the civil society has played its role in monitoring and disseminating information regarding the UN CRC. He said the state must take all feasible measures to prevent recruitment and use in hostilities of children under 18 by armed groups.
“The state will take legal measures to prohibit and criminalise such practices. After taking all such measures, if any person, who may have been recovered or released from any such group, the state will be responsible for taking serious measures to provide assistance, if required, for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of such persons.”
The civil society representatives on Monday urged the government to ratify optional protocol (OP) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UN CRC) which prohibits involvement of children in armed conflict.
They were speaking at a consultation held to discuss ratification of the optional protocol, which has already been ratified by 150 countries. The participants demanded that the government should immediately ratify the optional protocols in the best interest of children. The event was organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).
Despite being among the first 20 countries to sign and ratify the UN CRC, Pakistan has failed to ratify the optional protocol that it has signed way back in October 2001. After ratification, the state will be bound to implement the optional protocol. The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 and entered into force in 2002. Currently, 150 countries have ratified the optional protocol.
The need for this optional protocol was felt and discussed, as Article 38 of the UN CRC was found inconsistent with the principles of child protection. The article mentioned that 15 years old children would not be allowed to take part in direct hostilities and not be recruited into armed forces.
The optional protocol stresses that in the light of definition of a child and in the best interest of the child, no child under the age of 18 should be allowed to involve in hostilities, either directly or indirectly, and that no child under the age of 18 should be recruited into armed forces.
The speakers also demanded that the new optional protocol of UN CRC, which provides a complaint procedure for children, should also be signed by the government. The new optional protocol has been opened for signature from February 28, 2012. It enables children to seek redress for violations of their rights at international level — if national mechanisms have been exhausted.
In his presentation about UN CRC and details of optional protocols, Sparc National Manager Child Rights Iqbal Detho said that once states sign or ratify international conventions, state parties are bound to make their domestic laws in conformity with international obligations. “Furthermore, states are accountable for respecting, protecting and fulfilling even those rights violated by non-state actors.”
In case Pakistan ratifies the Optional Protocol on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, it will have to submit an initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child within two years detailing the steps, which Pakistan has taken to ensure that no child under the age of 18 will be involved directly in any kind of hostilities. Pakistan will also have to increase the age of voluntary recruitment from 15 years to 18 years and there should be no under-18 compulsory recruitment into its armed forces.
Senior Manager Child Rights Governance at Save the Children International Arshad Mahmood said that national and international advocacy could play important role in pressuring countries to implement the UN conventions. Talking about the conventions that have already been ratified, he said, the government ratifies conventions but is weak when it comes to implementation.
Safdar Raza of Plan said the civil society has played its role in monitoring and disseminating information regarding the UN CRC. He said the state must take all feasible measures to prevent recruitment and use in hostilities of children under 18 by armed groups.
“The state will take legal measures to prohibit and criminalise such practices. After taking all such measures, if any person, who may have been recovered or released from any such group, the state will be responsible for taking serious measures to provide assistance, if required, for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of such persons.”
Posted in: Islamabad
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