Pakistan stands by its global commitments on human rights: NCHR Chairperson
Zubair Qureshi
The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) and Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights (PCHR) collaborated on Monday to host live screening session of Pakistan’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the 42nd session of UPR Working Group in the UN Human Rights Council.
The session was live screened in the presence of prominent civil society activists, diplomats, journalists, students and government representatives. To maximize social media outreach of the session, the event also featured live tweeting with a hashtag #UPRPak besides providing a space for informal discussions among relevant stakeholders. The participants also expressed their opinion through posters inscribed with emojis of smile and tied lips, and signs such as “Danger: High Voltage” and “Just Do It” etc. A simultaneous screening event also took place in Lahore. The public interest in the process resulted in the hashtag #UPRPak trending on twitter at the end of the session.
Chairperson of the NCHR, Rabiya Javeri Agha opened the live screening event with a keynote address. She briefed the participants about the country’s international human rights obligations and the value of the UPR review process for promotion and protection of human rights. “Struggling with the advancement of human rights in Pakistan is a bit like playing snakes and ladders because sometimes we take two steps forward and go one step back,” she said.
The Chairperson said that as human rights defenders and citizens of Pakistan, it is incumbent upon us to comprehend how Pakistan has upheld its commitments under the UN Treaty Bodies, and to hold the government to account with regard to the obligations they have undertaken.
She was followed by ex-MNA Mehnaz Akbar Aziz who was of the view that Pakistan’s Parliament has a history of raising the voice for the vulnerable. “Pakistan is one of the four countries with the Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights,” she added.
In a three and a half hour UPR session, Pakistan was given 30 minutes to explain progress it has made in realizing human rights since the last review. The presentation was followed by 140 minutes of Human Rights Council member states making recommendations and asking questions. The sessions ended with another 40 minutes given to Pakistan for answering the questions and addressing issues raised during the session and making the final comments. All the recommendations from states would be presented to Pakistan one months after the session.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabanni Khar presented Pakistan’s case in her usual comprehensive and articulate manner, stating that human rights lie deep in the foundation of Pakistan and appreciating the UPR process. She was joined by Senator Walid Iqbal and Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Ali Raza Bhutta.
The 42nd Session of the UPR Working Group saw Pakistan reviewed for the fourth time on the 30th of January, 2023. Pakistan’s third UPR in 2017 saw it receiving 298 recommendations from various UN Member States, out of which it accepted 168 – a marked improvement from the 2nd cycle when it rejected 7 out of 166 recommendations.
