The two-day consultation on ‘Adapting System Approach to Child Protection in Pakistan’ concluded with a consensus among provinces to share modules and standard operating procedures (SOP) in order to get benefit from positive experiences of one another.
Organised by the Child Rights Legal Centre (CRLC) in collaboration with Save the Children, the consultation revealed an important fact that the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) apparently had a lead in child protection mechanism with its Child Welfare Department actively involving stakeholders in various projects.
However the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government was also working on many projects for child protection. Representatives of the KPK government asked the government of AJK to share their modules and experiences so that they could also follow in the footsteps of the AJK government.
One of the lamenting facts that came into limelight is that the Punjab government, which has taken the initiative of child protection a decade ago, is now lagging behind all provinces.
Having a centralised system to provide child protection services was another suggestion that managed to build consensus. The participants of the consultation believed that instead of working in small segments that costs resources, it is better to have a centralized system, which would also avoid duplication and increase efficiency.
Addressing on the occasion, KPK Child Protection Unit (CPU) Head Ijaz Khan said that they have managed to introduce the KPK Child Protection Act 2010 in which they have tried to cover the children at risk. “We have introduced CPU in provincial capital (Peshawar) in which these centres have been established in eight districts,” he said.
Sharing the challenges in the implementation of the Act, he said that there are many issues in the law related to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). “I think some of the issues should be dealt with separately rather they require a separate legislation,” he said.
AJK Social Welfare Secretary Farhat Mir said that there was no doubt about the fact that the issue of child protection was directly linked with law and judiciary “but we could not ignore the responsibility of parents, guardians and society.”
He said that the situation in AJK was somewhat different from provinces as the majority of people were sensitised due to various factors, including the higher literacy rate. “We can implement any model quite easily as compared to provinces. This is the reason that we are implementing our projects on child protection in a much better way,” he said.
Balochistan Secretary Social Welfare Sher Khan Bazi said that the issues in all provinces regarding child protection were the same despite the fact that all basic child rights are guaranteed in the Constitution. “Provinces got autonomy after the 18th Amendment and they should now be more active in legislation as well as implementation,” he said.
He informed that the Child Protection Bill was already lying with the Finance Division and it would soon be approved by the cabinet. “We have also proposed a commission that would be responsible to provide protection, shelter, food, education and health facilities to children,” he said.
Gilgit-Baltistan Assistant Chief (P&D) Ahsan Ghani, addressing on the occasion, said that they were establishing the Child Protection Units in Gilgit-Baltistan. “GB is a new set-up where we have many economic, social and cultural problems. However we are trying to overcome problems through networking and coordination,” he said.
Dr. Naeem Zafar from Punjab said that it was an unfortunate fact that Punjab had started working on child protection and had also constituted district committees but now all work they had done had been stopped. “The most devastating act was to hand over the Child Protection and Bureau to the home Department that has further deteriorated its standard and damaged its real spirit,” he said.
He stressed on the need for a supervisory body to monitor various projects on child protection and to play its effective role in activating the dead projects.
CRLC Executive Director Qandeel Shujaat, on the occasion, stressed all participants of the consultation to work in close coordination in order to avoid duplication. “Many organisations have a helpline but how many children are aware of it. It is better to have a centralised helpline service with all organisations working together in building a strong referral system and efficiently providing services,” he said.
He said that there was a need for self-realisation and civil society organisations to redesign what they are doing. “Many civil society organisations have vision, policy and they also make plan of action but hardly implement it. We all need to work honestly and dedicatedly to the cause of child protection,” he concluded.
Organised by the Child Rights Legal Centre (CRLC) in collaboration with Save the Children, the consultation revealed an important fact that the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) apparently had a lead in child protection mechanism with its Child Welfare Department actively involving stakeholders in various projects.
However the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government was also working on many projects for child protection. Representatives of the KPK government asked the government of AJK to share their modules and experiences so that they could also follow in the footsteps of the AJK government.
One of the lamenting facts that came into limelight is that the Punjab government, which has taken the initiative of child protection a decade ago, is now lagging behind all provinces.
Having a centralised system to provide child protection services was another suggestion that managed to build consensus. The participants of the consultation believed that instead of working in small segments that costs resources, it is better to have a centralized system, which would also avoid duplication and increase efficiency.
Addressing on the occasion, KPK Child Protection Unit (CPU) Head Ijaz Khan said that they have managed to introduce the KPK Child Protection Act 2010 in which they have tried to cover the children at risk. “We have introduced CPU in provincial capital (Peshawar) in which these centres have been established in eight districts,” he said.
Sharing the challenges in the implementation of the Act, he said that there are many issues in the law related to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). “I think some of the issues should be dealt with separately rather they require a separate legislation,” he said.
AJK Social Welfare Secretary Farhat Mir said that there was no doubt about the fact that the issue of child protection was directly linked with law and judiciary “but we could not ignore the responsibility of parents, guardians and society.”
He said that the situation in AJK was somewhat different from provinces as the majority of people were sensitised due to various factors, including the higher literacy rate. “We can implement any model quite easily as compared to provinces. This is the reason that we are implementing our projects on child protection in a much better way,” he said.
Balochistan Secretary Social Welfare Sher Khan Bazi said that the issues in all provinces regarding child protection were the same despite the fact that all basic child rights are guaranteed in the Constitution. “Provinces got autonomy after the 18th Amendment and they should now be more active in legislation as well as implementation,” he said.
He informed that the Child Protection Bill was already lying with the Finance Division and it would soon be approved by the cabinet. “We have also proposed a commission that would be responsible to provide protection, shelter, food, education and health facilities to children,” he said.
Gilgit-Baltistan Assistant Chief (P&D) Ahsan Ghani, addressing on the occasion, said that they were establishing the Child Protection Units in Gilgit-Baltistan. “GB is a new set-up where we have many economic, social and cultural problems. However we are trying to overcome problems through networking and coordination,” he said.
Dr. Naeem Zafar from Punjab said that it was an unfortunate fact that Punjab had started working on child protection and had also constituted district committees but now all work they had done had been stopped. “The most devastating act was to hand over the Child Protection and Bureau to the home Department that has further deteriorated its standard and damaged its real spirit,” he said.
He stressed on the need for a supervisory body to monitor various projects on child protection and to play its effective role in activating the dead projects.
CRLC Executive Director Qandeel Shujaat, on the occasion, stressed all participants of the consultation to work in close coordination in order to avoid duplication. “Many organisations have a helpline but how many children are aware of it. It is better to have a centralised helpline service with all organisations working together in building a strong referral system and efficiently providing services,” he said.
He said that there was a need for self-realisation and civil society organisations to redesign what they are doing. “Many civil society organisations have vision, policy and they also make plan of action but hardly implement it. We all need to work honestly and dedicatedly to the cause of child protection,” he concluded.
