FATA Children Rights are needed to be protected: Said Zar Ali Khan Afridi to participants of a dialogue on occasion of Universal Children Day

20^th November, 2014

United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC) on 20^th November, 1989 and Pakistan was the first Muslim and the 6^th country in the world to sign and ratify the UNCRC on the 12^th November, 1990 with some observations and reservations which were latter in 1997 were withdrawn, Said Zar Ali Khan Afridi Coordinator Child Rights Movement FATA to participants of a dialogue arranged in FR Peshawar-FATA  to commemorate the day called Universal Children’s Day. He said that this time it is 25^th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child. He said solid steps have not been taken to protect children Rights in Pakistan in general and in FATA in particular. It is true that Pakistan has withdrawn all her reservations and observations but we see no progress in state of children. We see that Article 25 A has been incorporated in Pakistan constitution of 1973 that all children above 5 and below 16 will have to get education which is compulsory but still we observe that schools of our children are targeted in FATA. About 25 years ago we promised with our children that their rights would be protected and voices be heard but even today more than 0.6 million FATA children are leading a miserable life in camps and host families as Internally Displaced Persons many of whom are deprived of their basic rights called education. An abundant number of weapons, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Mines hidden under earth surface in our region which is a conflict zone have left many handicapped, parentless and deprived of basic education. Thousands children have been trained by terrorist out fits and groups are being used as suicide bombers who explode themselves and destroy valuable lives and property. Dozens are imprisoned in jails and lock ups of political Administration of FATA under inhuman regulations called Frontier Crimes Regulations 1901.  No law related to children protection has been extended to FATA as FATA is governed under Article 247 of Constitution and this does not allow jurisdiction of any court of the country to exercise power there and protect children rights.

Zar Ali Khan Afridi thanked participants who had come from far and wide of the FATA and participated in such a great and important dialogue over the rights of children on Universal Children Day.

Regards

Zar Ali Khan Afridi

Coordinator

Child Rights Movement-FATA

+92-91-3015963337