Islamabad, September 19, 2022 (PPI-OT): 15th meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Rights was held today under the Chairpersonship of Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, MNA, in Committee Room No. 7 (fourth floor) Parliament House. The meeting commenced with recitation from the Holy Quran. After a brief introduction of the participants, the Committee decided to proceed as per agenda item.
The Joint Secretary, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions briefed the Committee on the plight of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan. He informed that presently over 1.4 million registered Afghans, 0.81 million documented and an estimated 0.7 million un-documented Afghans are residing in Pakistan. With over 1.4 million registered Afghans, Pakistan remains the 2nd largest refugee hosting country in the world.
Pakistan is signatory in tripartite agreement along with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) and Government of Afghanistan aimed at repatriating the Afghans on voluntary basis in a dignified manner and managing the stay of remaining case load in the country by adhering to the protection principle under the international protection norms.
The difficulties and issues faced by asylum seekers were also discussed in the meeting. The Afghan nationals who have arrived in Pakistan after August 2021 are not considered refuges, they are asylum seekers who want to move forward to Europe, USA etc. Most of these recent asylum seekers are residing in urban areas. The procedure of UNCHR, regarding helping them reaching their destinations in Europe, take 3 to 5 years.
The Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed the Committee that Pakistan cannot afford the influx of further refugees, the new arrivals are with a purpose to move to various destinations. In this connection, relevant Embassies were contacted but they informed that they have already taken their share, moreover they are not ready to take care of further refugees.
The Committee was also briefed by the representatives of Afghan refugees about their problems. The Committee was not satisfied with the presentations, made by the Ministry of Human Rights and M/o States and Frontier Region (SAFRON), and directed to submit complete detail of registered, documented, non-documented and detained refugees.
The Committee also directed M/o Interior, M/o Foreign Affairs and M/o SAFRON to come in next meeting with proper preparation and solution/suggestions on the issue. The Committee unanimously passed the joint resolution which was presented by Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Zeb Jaffar, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Ms. Shams UN Nisa, Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva, Ms. Kishwar Zehra, and Mr. Mohsin Dawar regarding difficulties of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The Committee urged the government to immediately respond to the displaced Afghan Refugees in Pakistan, on humanitarian basis. The Committee also reiterated the need for a comprehensive policy for dealing with Afghan refugees, as per Article 19 of the National Action Plan, 2014, and in accordance with the decision of the Federal Cabinet in February 2017.
The representative of the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) briefed the Committee regarding the Commission. He informed that the Commission was established on 28th February, 2020 as an independent oversight body to ensure the compliance of United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
For law reforms the NCRC reviewed all laws has helped provinces and Islamabad Capital territory in identifying gaps and suggested appropriate legislation. Financial issues faced by the Commission were also discussed and Committee directed the Ministry to immediately resolve the financial and administrative issues of the Commission.
The Committee directed the Ministry of Law and Justice to scrutinize NCRC Act in light of Paris Principles in consultations of all stakeholders.
Honourable Members/MNAs/Movers Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Zeb Jaffar, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Ms. Shams Un Nisa, Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva, Ms. Kishwar Zehra, Mr. Mohsin Dawar attended the meeting.
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PPI News Agency