UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

On November 12, 1990, Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and it entered into force on December 12, 1990. At the time of ratification, Pakistan made a general reservation that the provisions of the UN CRC shall be interpreted according to the principles of Islamic Laws and values. The reservation was withdrawn on July 23, 1997. However, unlike some of the other countries of the world, conventions are not enforceable in Pakistan until there is enabling legislation making them law of the land. Pakistan has not introduced any such law.

Background of the UN CRC and Children’s Right to Survival, Right to Development, Right to Protection and Right to Participation. (read more)

The NCCWD (National Commission of Child Welfare and Development) working under the Ministry of Social Welfare is the agency given the task of implementing the UN CRC in Pakistan. NCCWD also prepares the progress reports for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Pakistan submitted its first progress report to the Committee in 1993. The report laid more emphasis on goals and intentions than on concrete measures taken to ensure compliance with the UN CRC provisions. The Committee criticized Pakistan for not submitting a standard report and for not following the Committee Guidelines with respect to report writing.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on September 22, 2003 considered Pakistan’s second progress report on its implementation of the UN CRC. SPARC submitted to the Committee an alternative report on the state of Pakistan’s children as well as another specifically on the situation of breastfeeding in Pakistan and SPARC’s annual report, The State of Pakistan’s Children 2002. SPARC’s National Coordinator, Mr. Anees Jillani, appeared before the Committee on June 10, 2003 during its pre-Sessional working group of the 34th Session and made an approximately half-hour presentation, followed by extensive questioning and discussion.

SPARC at the pre-Sessional working group of the 34th Session

The Government of Pakistan is now working on the third progress report which was due by the end of 2002. As an exceptional measure to allow Pakistan to catch up with its reporting obligations, the Committee has invited Pakistan to submit its third and fourth reports as one consolidated report by December 11, 2007, the due date for submission of the fourth report.

On October 31, 2001, Pakistan signed the Optional Protocol to the UN CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and Optional Protocol on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. These have yet to be ratified.

Definition of a Child in Pakistan

There is no standard definition of a child in Pakistan. Under the Majority Act 1875, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age, while the labor laws fix the minimum age of employment at 14 years. The voting age is 18 years and the national identity card is also issued at this age. Under child marriage laws the marriageable age of a girl is 16 years and for a boy 18 years. Under the Muslim Law, maturity is attained on reaching puberty, and this definition applies in criminal matters covered under the Hudood Ordinance 1979. A positive step towards a standard definition of a child is the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000. It sets the definition of a child at 18 years of age, raising it from 15 and 16 years in the provincial laws. However, the age of criminal responsibility remains seven years.

Child Rights Situation in Pakistan

More than 30% of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line where basic needs, especially those of children, remain unfulfilled. Government institutions that can safeguard the rights of children are weak and suffer from mismanagement, bureaucratic apathy, lack of funds and an overall commitment to the social needs of the population. At the societal level, centuries-old traditions discriminate against women and girls, with long-term consequences on maternal health, female literacy and lack of participation in decision-making. Poverty has created a criminal divide in the society where the plight of poor children goes unmourned.