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178 and young persons should be protected from economic and social
exploitation...States should also set age limits below which the paid
employment of child labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.
Children
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Article 10(3)
Protection of child rights yet again did not appear to be a priority for the
government in 2012 and, despite several promises and positive projections for
the year, the incidence of child rights violations remained essentially unchanged.
Recommendations made to Pakistan by the Human Rights Council and
Committee on the Rights of the Child at the UN Universal Periodic Review
(2008-2012) for the country indicated that Pakistan had seriously lagged in its
commitments to child rights as more than half of the recommendations pertained
to child rights. Situational Analysis of Women and Children in Pakistan 2012
by UNICEF also painted a very dismal child rights situation in the country.
Threat to girls’ education resurfaced as a serious issue in Pakistan and
was particularly highlighted by an attack on Malala Yousafzai, a young advocate
of women’s education, in the Swat region. None of the provinces made any
notable efforts to introduce laws on free and compulsory education to implement
the right recognised by Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan. While
there was an overall reduction in the number of polio cases in 2012 compared
to the previous year, the goal of a polio-free Pakistan remained a long way
away. Child health also faced a serious setback toward the end of 2012 due to
the eruption of measles epidemic across the country, resulting in hundreds of
fatalities. September witnessed another wave of floods, causing devastation in
several districts of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh. UNICEF estimated that at
least 1.4 million children had
been affected, of whom
more than 390,000 were
younger than five. At least
176 children were reported
killed as a result of drone
strikes in north-western
parts of Pakistan in 2012.
Some positive
developments during the
year included the
constitution of a
Parliamentary Forum on
Child Rights (PFCR) by the
National Assembly with the
primary purpose of ensuring
Dwelling on an uncertain future.
protection of child rights in