KARACHI (By Manzoor Ali/ENNS) Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) can play very important role to create awareness on child protection laws and policies being more vigilant in contacting with institutions those are responsible to facilitate the protection of children and ensure child rights at all level.
This was stated by Iqbal Detho, Member, National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC).
He was talking in a brief session on Child Rights and the Role of NCRC in Karachi organized by the Legal Rights Forum (LRF) under its Child Rights, Governance and Protection Program and the Civil Society Support Program.
Mr Detho described child rights and protection as part of the Constitution of Pakistan. He advised that CSO activists must possess complete knowledge about the child protection laws, policies and redressel mechanism. He informed that there were number of laws and policies that exist in Sindh and that need to be understood in the context of child rights. He also highlighted the role of CSOs for protection of child rights.
Responding to a question, Mr. Detho said that there were two ways to strengthen the society. Firstly, there is a need to incorporate constitutional article(s) related to children in syllabus with practical guidelines and teacher’s training to deliver the content so that the students are well aware of their rights.
Further, the CSOs can take the lead to develop advocates to work in the community for awareness, safety and child protection by coordinating among the institutions or departments that are responsible for supporting a child. He suggested that LRF as a Child Rights Advocacy organization can lead the Child Rights issues not only in Sindh but also at the national level.
Malik Tahir Iqbal, CEO LRF, said LRF has been working in close coordination with Sindh Child Protection Authority, Social Welfare Department, Government of Sindh besides other related departments such as Education, Health, Police, Prison, Judiciary and Home Department. He added that LRF also works closely with Deputy Commissioners, Child Protection Officers, and child rights networks.
