ISAMABAD: The participants at a national consultation urged the stakeholders to work on a systematic approach towards child protection, especially in post devolution scenario in order to find pragmatic solutions to the problems.
The national consultation “Adapting a system approach to child protection in Pakistan ” was jointly organised by Child Rights Legal Centre and Save the Children. The participants observed that developing systematic approach to child protection was challenging however it should be done in order to meet national and international standards such as UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Keeping in view the post devolution scenario, the experts in the consultation said that systematic approach to child protection demands the attention, commitment and coordination of all levels of government and other sectors including civil society, NGOs, private sector, academia, families, caregivers and children.
The consultation was well attended by the stakeholders from all provinces including Social Welfare, Police, Prison, Reclamation and Probation, Child Protection Units, Child Protection Commission, Remand Home, Child Protection Bureaus, Judicial Academy and National Child Protection Centre. Besides that civil society organisations and national coalitions including National Juvenile Justice Network, Child Rights Movements, Child Protection and Empowerment of Adolescent Network (CPEA) also participated.
Addressing on the occasion, Save the Children Country Director David Wright said that only systematic approach to child protection could ensure the sustainable solution to the problems. “It requires a national strategy, a sound legal framework and child friendly judicial system, targeted policies and planning, trained officials, research and public awareness to be able to prevent violence, identify child victims of violence and offer a comprehensive referral system including reporting, care and rehabilitation services,” he said.
National Commission on Children representative Hassan Mangi said that the problem with majority of organisations working on child protection was that they didn’t identify the needs and failed to address them in scientific way. “Child protection is a complex phenomenon and needs to be understood in a wider spectrum. It has different levels including family, street, union council, province and so on,” he said.
The participants of the consultation had the consensus that there should be a strong collaboration between different organisations and departments working on child protection to avoid duplication besides having a better mechanism to address the child protection issues.pr
The national consultation “Adapting a system approach to child protection in Pakistan ” was jointly organised by Child Rights Legal Centre and Save the Children. The participants observed that developing systematic approach to child protection was challenging however it should be done in order to meet national and international standards such as UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Keeping in view the post devolution scenario, the experts in the consultation said that systematic approach to child protection demands the attention, commitment and coordination of all levels of government and other sectors including civil society, NGOs, private sector, academia, families, caregivers and children.
The consultation was well attended by the stakeholders from all provinces including Social Welfare, Police, Prison, Reclamation and Probation, Child Protection Units, Child Protection Commission, Remand Home, Child Protection Bureaus, Judicial Academy and National Child Protection Centre. Besides that civil society organisations and national coalitions including National Juvenile Justice Network, Child Rights Movements, Child Protection and Empowerment of Adolescent Network (CPEA) also participated.
Addressing on the occasion, Save the Children Country Director David Wright said that only systematic approach to child protection could ensure the sustainable solution to the problems. “It requires a national strategy, a sound legal framework and child friendly judicial system, targeted policies and planning, trained officials, research and public awareness to be able to prevent violence, identify child victims of violence and offer a comprehensive referral system including reporting, care and rehabilitation services,” he said.
National Commission on Children representative Hassan Mangi said that the problem with majority of organisations working on child protection was that they didn’t identify the needs and failed to address them in scientific way. “Child protection is a complex phenomenon and needs to be understood in a wider spectrum. It has different levels including family, street, union council, province and so on,” he said.
The participants of the consultation had the consensus that there should be a strong collaboration between different organisations and departments working on child protection to avoid duplication besides having a better mechanism to address the child protection issues.pr
