UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has urged the international community to mobilise the political will to translate pledges made for protecting promoting children’s rights into actions.

Addressing the general debate on the Rights of Children at the UN headquarters on Friday, Pakistan’s representative Saima Saleem also underlined the need to implement the United Nations’ legal and normative framework for children’s rights and developmental needs.

In a separate statement, UN Secretary General António Guter­res reminded the world that “20,000 children are driven from their homes every day” due to climate-related disasters. “We need to protect and prioritise them in all our climate action efforts,” he added.

Ms Saleem also stressed this point in her address, pointing out that the crisis of Covid-19, climate change and conflicts had severely “damaged Pakistan’s economy and restricted fiscal space with detrimental impacts on the rights of children”.

Saima Saleem urges technical, financial resources for country-specific roadmaps

The epic floods last year affected 33 million people in Pakistan, including 10 million children.

“Today, the future of our children is mired in a poly crisis marked by conflicts, aftershocks of the pandemic, looming climate catastrophe and the financial crisis,” she said.

She recalled that more than three decades ago, at a summit for children, world leaders had promised a better future for children, but most of those promises have not been met.

Children’s rights were also highlighted in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, but many countries are lagging behind in meeting those goals.

“Despite legal and normative standards, pledges and commitments, the international community is off-track in achieving SDGs and their associated targets related to children and implementing our human rights obligations related to children,” Ms Saleem said.

“With 40 per cent of its population below the age of 18, Pakistan accords the highest priority to protecting and promoting the rights of our children who will be the drivers and beneficiaries of development and prosperity in Pakistan,” she said.

Pakistan was one of the co-initiators of the 1990 World Summit for Children, which led to adoption of the landmark Conventions on the Rights of the Child. Pakistan was also one of the earliest signatories of the Convention on Rights of the Child and its two optional Protocols. It has also ratified all core ILO conventions on child labour.

Ms Saleem informed the UN meeting that at the national level, Pakistan had undertaken legal, policy and administrative measures to ensure the rights of children.

Pakistan has enacted several laws to safeguard rights and prevent violence and abuse. The country has also set up a National Commission on the Rights of the Children. As many as 13 child courts and child protection units have been established. Its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights includes “measures to counter child labour; and, participation of children in national consultations to have their voices heard”, Ms Saleem told the international community.

In her speech, she also reminded the UN “the promise we have made to our children and future generations cannot be realized without fulfilling the developmental rights of children.” She stressed now “is the time to translate our pledges into tangible actions” and take measures to achieve goals and associated targets related to children.

The Pakistani diplomat also highlighted the need to provide technical and financial resources for country-specific roadmaps for promoting and protecting rights of children. “The clock is ticking. To save the future of humanity, we have to fulfill the promise for a better future for our children before it is too late,” she said.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023