(HRCP) – Page 3 – Newswire Pakistan

January 7, 2023January 9, 2023

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan announces Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim Human Rights Fellowship

Lahore, January 07, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is pleased to announce the inaugural Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim Human Rights Fellowship, sponsored by his family. A founding member of HRCP, Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim (1928-2020) remained deeply committed to democratic ideals all his life, and worked tirelessly to secure and advance the constitutional rights of minorities and the under-privileged.

The Human Rights Fellowship Award in his name will honour Justice Ibrahim’s legacy and will continue as an annual competitive grant awarded to support research and scholarship in this field. The HRCP secretariat will shortly announce the application deadline and eligibility criteria.

For more information, contact:
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
Aiwan-i-Jamhoor, 107-Tipu Block,
New Garden Town, Lahore-54600
Tel: +92-42-35864994
Fax: +92-42-35883582
Email: hrcp@hrcp-web.org
Website: www.hrcp-web.org

January 2, 2023January 3, 2023

State must heed Gwadar’s legitimate grievances

Lahore, January 02, 2023 (PPI-OT):Having closely followed the recent mass demonstrations in Gwadar, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) believes it is now imperative for the state to shed its tacit policy of relegating Balochistan to second-class status.

While HRCP deplores the violence that left one policeman dead during the recent protests, we also urge the provincial government to protect people’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly by refraining from mass arrests and use of force, and focusing instead on more effective methods of crowd control. In the medium term, however, the onus is on the provincial government to negotiate with the protestors and give their demands a fair hearing.

Their legitimate grievances – which are not new – centre on demands that any citizen of Pakistan has a right to make: the right to security of person, freedom of movement and peaceful assembly, access to clean water, education and healthcare, an end to enforced disappearances, and greater economic opportunities and livelihoods. Moreover, the unofficial media blackout of Balochistan and its problems must end and the region’s problems given the attention they have long merited.

December 10, 2022December 11, 2022

HRCP concludes national roundtable on climate justice, calls for building a new social contract

Islamabad, December 10, 2022 (PPI-OT):A national roundtable on climate justice held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for building a new social contract rooted in climate justice – the concept that climate change is an ethical, legal and political issue rather than solely environmental.

Inaugurating the roundtable, HRCP’s secretary-general Harris Khalique noted how climate change impacts people’s lives and livelihoods. He also underscored the need to include environmental rights in the ambit of human rights, and envision both immediate and long-term solutions to ensure climate justice.

The participants discussed how integral environmental rights are to the realisation of fundamental freedoms, such as the rights to life, livelihood, housing, sanitation, health, food, water and clean air. Former chair of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and national advisor at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre Lieutenant General (R) Nadeem Ahmad emphasised that the provision of food, shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare must take priority during emergency responses.

Seemee Ezdi, the chairperson of the senate’s standing committee on climate change, noted that local governance is essential to affect change at a grassroots level. Shahid Sayeed Khan, the CEO of Indus Earth Trust, highlighted the importance of short-term solutions to address the psychological trauma of affected persons. Academic Brigadier (R) Dr Fiaz Hussain Shah said that strategies for climate change adaptation is needed at every level, with close coordination between the NDMA, the climate change ministry and the planning ministry.

Environmental journalist Afia Salam noted the state’s lack of preparedness when the 2022 floods took place, underscoring that the state must work towards disaster risk reduction, not just disaster management. The state must also conduct a vulnerability mapping exercise from a human rights lens and bridge both the gender gap and the youth gap in disaster mitigation efforts. Academic Zaigham Abbas said that indigenous knowledge systems on ecological resilience must be considered, and Saif Jamali from the Jinnah Institute highlighted the need to build on community responses to disasters so that vernacular wisdom is at the forefront.

Sherry Rehman, federal minister for climate change, concluded the roundtable by noting how every crisis affects the vulnerable the most, such as women and children in the recent floods. Science-based expertise must take the lead with policies that connect to on-ground realities, and a national climate adaptation plan must be developed.

For more information, contact:
Chairperson,
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
Aiwan-i-Jamhoor, 107-Tipu Block,
New Garden Town, Lahore-54600
Tel: +92-42-35864994
Fax: +92-42-35883582
Email: hrcp@hrcp-web.org
Website: www.hrcp-web.org

October 30, 2022October 31, 2022

HRCP calls on state to hasten rehabilitation of flood-affected

Lahore, October 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):On concluding its 36th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the general body of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called on the federal and provincial governments to accelerate their efforts to rehabilitate the thousands of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the recent floods. While the scale of the disaster was overwhelming, it is now essential to focus on resettling those displaced in habitats that are better adapted to the effects of climate change.

HRCP reiterates its call for urgent land reforms, which are critical not only to reducing poverty and realising rights such as equal access to food and housing, but are also necessary if the state is to rehabilitate vulnerable communities affected by the floods. While Pakistan has every right to demand climate reparations, it must also look within and articulate a strategy to ensure that its most vulnerable groups receive climate justice and to secure all people’s right to food, shelter and health amid the economic crisis.

HRCP also expresses its concern over the ongoing political turmoil and reminds both the government and opposition that not only is this harmful for Pakistan’s democracy, but it also threatens people’s fundamental rights and freedoms. The continuing impunity for perpetrators of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings remains cause for serious concern. HRCP recalls that it has been two months since one of its own members, Lala Fahim Baloch, was disappeared from Karachi and demands that he be recovered safely.

HRCP notes with alarm an uptick in mob violence, with two men lynched recently in Karachi on groundless suspicions that they were kidnappers. While this is a worrying symptom of an increasingly brutalised society, it also reflects loss of public faith in the state’s ability to ensure justice. The state must also heed the demands of people in Swat, who have long warned of the rise in militancy and must not be left to bear the brunt of extremist-fuelled violence.

The deliberate and insidious marginalisation of the Ahmadiyya community – most recently in the shape of declarations of faith being made mandatory to register a marriage – is cause for grave concern. HRCP also calls on the state to ensure that Scheduled Castes in Sindh are given their due representation in government and that their right to freedom from any manner of discrimination is protected. The malicious campaign against the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 must cease and the provincial governments must also enact legislation to protect the rights of transgender persons.

The state must also present and implement a strategy with respect to Afghan refugees that recognises their right to seek asylum in Pakistan and to live in dignity as refugees, while ensuring the political and economic rights of the host communities. Additionally, HRCP demands that all public institutions be made easily accessible for persons living with disabilities. HRCP also believes that all judicial appointments must be made without discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, faith or gender.

Securing all people’s right to freedom of expression, assembly and association is vital to strengthening the democratic fabric. HRCP reiterates its condemnation of the FIR lodged against Manzoor Pashteen at the Asma Jahangir Conference. The Commission also calls on the government to ensure that all citizens’ right to peaceful protest is protected. Additionally, HRCP takes strong exception to the state’s efforts to over-regulate NGOs and civil society organisations, many of which play a key role in providing services in areas neglected by the state itself.

October 24, 2022October 25, 2022

HRCP has reservations about enforced disappearances bill

Lahore, October 24, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expresses reservations concerning the recently passed Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022. While the amendment acknowledges the crime of enforced disappearance and defines this as the ‘unlawful or illegal deprivation of liberty by an agent of the state’, it does not address the need for a new legal architecture extending civilian oversight to these very agents. Such a provision is central to any effective legislation to curb enforced disappearances, given the thousands of allegations and testimonies that hold state agencies responsible for this practice.

Legislation to determine the mandate of state agencies such as the ISI is also necessary, given that it has claimed in front of the superior courts to have had ‘lawful’ authority to arrest persons accused of ‘anti-state activities.’ Additionally, the bill does not address the question of reparations to victims and their families nor does it address the accountability of perpetrators.

Enforced disappearances must be treated as a separate, autonomous crime. Any legislation to curb this practice must provide guarantees that anyone deprived of their liberty is kept in a fully authorised place of detention and victims, their families and witnesses provided protection in case of reprisals. Pakistan must also sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

HRCP also believes that laws allowing the military to investigate and try civilians should be amended. It is no mere coincidence that human rights defender Idris Khattak – who was disappeared for eight months and then acknowledged by security agencies to be in their custody was convicted under the Army Act 1952.

October 16, 2022October 17, 2022

Attack on transgender persons in Peshawar was result of personal dispute

Lahore, October 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Fact-finding mission led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) to investigate an attack on four transgender persons in Peshawar on 11 September 2022 has concluded that the attack was a result of a personal dispute – one of the victims had refused to allow the accused to conduct a physical relationship with a junior member of her team.

On 11 September 2022, four transgender persons and a man were seriously injured when the accused opened fire on their vehicle. They were returning from a wedding, at which they had been slated to perform. HRCP felt it was necessary to investigate the incident, given the context of violence against transgender persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

It is the responsibility of the police to arrest the accused as soon as possible and take action according to the law. However, noting the prejudiced attitude of the Peshawar police to the Trans community in general, HRCP recommends immediate and effective gender sensitivity training for the police. In addition, any police officers guilty of extorting money from transgender persons should be penalised for doing so.

HRCP also recommends that the KP provincial cabinet pass legislation to address transgender persons’ welfare as soon as possible, especially given the malicious disinformation campaign being led by religious political parties against the federal Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. Additionally, the KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission should start registering transgender persons below 18 years of age.