Enactment of Child Protection (Amendment) Act lauded

Islamabad

Speakers of a sensitisation seminar appreciated the enactment of Child Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 but highlighted the fact that only effective implementation can lead to protection of children in true sense.

They were expressing their opinion at that sensitisation event on Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 2016 or Child Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 organised by the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) and Unicef. The objective of the event was to sensitise all stakeholders including children on the act and to discuss the scope, provisions and salient features along with its implementation mechanisms. Representatives of provincial and federal government, relevant civil society organisations and children attended the event and gave their suggestion on building implementation mechanism for the law.

The MoHR has recently promulgated the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 2016, which increased the age of criminal responsibility from seven to ten years and upper age from 12 to 14 years. The Act also introduced punishment for committing the offences of child pornography, exposure to seduction, cruelty to child, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

The participants came up with a set of recommendations and way forward for the effective implementation of the Act. They suggested the government to initiate mass awareness campaign regarding this law and trainings for the law enforcement agencies. They also recommended specialized judges and helpline for children to improve access to justice for general public.

Participants said that children make 40 per cent of the total population and effective implementation of this law can play very important role in providing protection to the future generation of the country. They also suggested the government to work closely with the civil society for creating awareness about the act and capacity building of the law enforcers.

Speaking on this occasion, MoHR Secretary Nadeem Ashraf agreed that justice delayed is justice denied and inform the participants that the ministry is working to establish implementation mechanism for the new law. “The ministry is already operating the helpline and we are working to improve the hand holding so that the victim can get connected to all references and relief sources through the ministry,” he said.

Earlier, MoHR Director General Muhammad Hassan Mangi welcomed the participants and highlighted the importance of the amendments in PPC and CrPC which provides more protection to children. MoHR Legal Consultant Advocate Sharafat Ali Chaudhry apprised the participants about the background and content of the Act.

Chairperson of National Action Coordination Group on Ending Violence against Children Valerie Khan talked about the child protection framework in international context. The role of civil society in the enactment and implementation of act was highlighted by Country Advocacy Coordinator for Plan Pakistan Safdar Raza.