KARACHI: The first meeting of the Provincial Human Rights Vigilance Committee was held under the chairmanship of Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh Surendar Valasai.
The meeting was attended by members of the committee and Secretary Human Rights Department Sindh Javed Sibghatullah Mahar. Valasai said that the main objective of the Provincial Human Rights Vigilance Committee was to ensure protection of the rights provided to the people in the Constitution in this regard.
Appreciating the suggestions of the committee members, the Special Assistant directed the Secretary of Human Rights to write a letter to the Department of Education to include the UN Declaration of Human Rights in the syllabus. Surendar Valasai said that in many districts of Sindh, personal enmities lead to business and other crimes. There is a need to set up a fact-finding committees on unprecedented cases of suicides in Mirpurkhas division and elsewhere to meet the demands of justice.
He said that human rights committees would be formed at district level soon. At the request of the members, Valasai said that smart ID cards should be issued to the committee members by the Human Rights Department so that in case of any human rights violation, they can introduce themselves to the concerned department.
Valasai said that out of 9 UN Conventions on Human Rights, 7 conventions have been signed by the Government of Pakistan, out of which 5 were signed during the PPP regime. He said that the implementation of the Human Rights Convention would help in obtaining GSP Plus status and would also bring economic benefits of $1.5 billion.
Earlier, Secretary Human Rights Javed Sibghatullah Mahar briefed the committee members about the steps taken by the Sindh government to protect human rights. He also briefed the members about the aims and objectives of the committee. During the meeting, the committee members made various recommendations and suggestions.
Tahir Hassan Khan said that seminars and workshops should be organized across the province to create awareness about the human rights provisions in the constitution and also recommended the celebration of International Human Rights Day on a large scale this year. Another member, Nawaz Dhari, suggested that transgender and special people be included in the committee. Ayub Khoso asked about the scope and working of the committee.