THE annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) for the year 2019 portrays a worrisome picture of the state of human rights in the country. Launched online on Thursday, the flagship annual report titled ‘State of Human Rights in 2019,’ notes that widespread socio-economic marginalisation has left the weakest segments of the society invisible and unheard.
The observations and findings of the report should be a source of concern for the Government as the Commission has apprehended that human rights record will further deteriorate due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, heaping misery on the already marginalised sections of the society. This is confirmed by media reports that domestic violence against women has increased during the lockdown period in some particular parts of the country. The situation is also complicated by the fact that aggrieved people have less chances of access to police and courts during prevailing environment. A widely held perception about increased curbs on political dissent and freedom of media has also been confirmed by the report. It points out the erosion of social media spaces and a deliberate financial squeeze on the media ‘led to Pakistan’s position slipping on the World Press Freedom Index and hopefully these issues would be taken care of by the new leadership of the Information Ministry, which has rich background of issues and a vision for their solution. It is regrettable that some issues are continuously being hammered out by the report every year but they mostly remain unattended. These include society’s fixation with ‘honour’ (with Punjab accounting for the highest proportion of honour crimes), subhuman conditions for prisoners in jails and child abuse. As we have a vocal and perceptive figure at the head of the Human Rights Ministry, it is hoped that the issues highlighted by the report would be addressed in a comprehensive manner in close coordination with the provinces. Some good initiatives like ensuring inheritance rights for women have been taken but more need to be taken to bring about a real change in the society.
