Speakers Urge Amalgamated Approach To Child Rights In KP

News Desk

Peshawar: In order to ensure that all institutions are working together to defend children’s rights, speakers at a consultative session on the institutional framework for child protection in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa stressed the necessity for an integrated approach to child protection.

The session was organized by the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday.

The goal of the consultation session was to review and adopt a systemic strategy to solve various child protection challenges in KP, where children are subjected to insidious forms of violence, exploitation and abuse including physical, emotional or sexual exploitation.

NCRC Chairperson AfshanTehseen emphasised that children are a vital part of society, education and a secure environment are their basic fundamental rights, and parents and the community are key players in protecting kids.

She also stressed the need for federal and provincial lawmakers to address loopholes in the existing laws for protecting children and informed them that the commission has played a significant role in processing nearly 267 complaints of abuse of children’s rights and providing direct relief.

KP Secretary Information and Public Relations Arshad Khan said, “KP has created educational infrastructure, both in merger and settling districts, but the difficulty is low enrollment and a high dropout rate of roughly 71 million children between the ages of 5 and 6.”

He also underlined the significance of the community’s role, particularly that of parents and the media, in tackling these issues.

Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Dr Riffat Sardar stated, “Every journey begins with a few small steps, and success depends on being alert. Stereotyping is a barrier to addressing this issue of early child weddings, and a campaign to raise awareness is the only way to protect children.”

Director Labour and Manpower Irfan Khan informed that there are around 1.5 million children doing labour in KP, and “it is the government’s priority to gradually end child labour through the integration of policies and the mainstreaming of the problem.”

He added that Child Labour laws in KP are being implemented by Labour Inspectors.

KP Child Protection & Welfare Commission Deputy Chief Ijaz Khan told that the commission makes a lot of effort to effectively supervise and coordinate child rights issues at the local and provincial levels.

“In every district, child protection committees have been established, complete with networking and referral systems,” he apprised.

National Situation: According to a UNICEF report 2021, 12 per cent of all 5 to 17-year-olds are engaged in child labour in Pakistan. Among 15 to 17-years-olds, 30.3 per cent of Pakistan’s youth are out of school and working.

Moreover, a whopping 3.3 million Pakistani children are forced into child labour, which robs them of their youth, health, and education and dooms them to a life of squalor and deprivation.

As many as 56 percent of children run away due to domestic violence, 22 percent are out-of-school or other educational facilities and 22 percent are working to support their families; as per the information shared by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) Board of Directors Member Khalida Ahmed.