SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

they are protected by another section that penalizes those who kidnap or abduct any person
for the same reasons.
The government, with UNICEF assistance, drafted a child protection bill and submitted it for
approval of Parliament in 2007. The bill will ensure compliance of national legislation with
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international standards. 367 As of this writing,
the bill has not yet been approved by Parliament.
7.3 Policy
A National Plan of Action against Child Abuse and Exploitation was first developed in 2001.
It was revised in 2004-2005 by the National Commission for Child Welfare and Development
(NCCWD), the lead agency for child rights and welfare in Pakistan, with the collaboration of
the PPA, UNICEF and Save the Children Sweden. The revision also involved consultations
with children at risk. In 2006, Pakistan’s National Plan of Action on Children was adopted,
and the NPA against Child Abuse and Exploitation was made an annex to that document.
This NPA covers the themes of prevention, protection, recovery and rehabilitation.
Prevention activities include a number of awareness-raising initiatives through different
mediums for the public, NGOs and professionals, as well as sensitization programmes for the
police and judiciary. Preventive interventions for children at risk are limited to ‘community
vigilance systems’; they do not include outreach to high-risk children, such as children living
on the street or working, or the development of abuse reporting systems. Protection activities
include reviewing and proposing legislation, strengthening law enforcement and developing
codes of conduct for the operation of children’s homes and for addressing child pornography,
particularly on the Internet. Recovery and rehabilitation activities focus on building the
capacity of service providers, establishing support services for victims and developing a
referral system for victims at the local level. Absent from the NPA are the development of
minimum standards for caregiving practice and activities related to reintegration of child
victims.
The NCCWD (the implementing agency for the NPA) established a Working Group against
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, which provides advice and technical support for
implementing the NPA. Membership includes the PPA, Sahil, Rozan, Struggle for Change,
Vision, Save the Children Sweden and Save the Children United Kingdom. A National Child
Protection Plan has been drafted and is under approval by the Federal Cabinet.
A National Plan of Action for Combating Human Trafficking was developed in 2004 by the
Ministry of Interior with IOM assistance. It designates the Federal Investigation Agency as
the primary implementing agency. It also specifies activities to address trafficking by the
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Illegal Immigration, antitrafficking
units of the Federal Investigation Agency, and other bodies.
367 United Nations Economic and Social Council and UNICEF, 2008, ‘Short-duration country programme
document: Islamic Republic of Pakistan’.
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