Child rights and abuse of Internet
I WOULD like to appreciate the government for ratifying the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, which was adopted by the General Assembly on May 25, 2000.
After 10 years of passage, Pakistan finally became a party to it. Now it is being hoped that certain areas in the realm of child rights which were not discussed earlier in Pakistan would become part of our daily discourse.
Child pornography is one of those issues which have not attracted any attention in Pakistan. Neither there is any law about its prohibition nor knowledge among public about the term and its practice.
Through still and video cameras, sexually explicit images of children are produced which are accessed through the Internet, as well as over cellphones. But to paedophiles, the Internet provides secrecy; they can access the virtual spaces of news groups, chat rooms and websites.
The wider use and expansion of the Internet without certain censorship or screening has enabled immense expansion in such materials available and made access relatively easy and inexpensive.
The biggest fear is that children are exposed to pornography which badly affects their moral and social behaviour. The Internet and other related technologies also make the way for organised sexual abuse and violence against children for networks of sex tourists, paedophiles and traffickers. Through Internet, videos and still images of children are shared across the country and borders.
However, such treaties like the Optional Protocol signed by Pakistan are only strong when there is a will in the government to enforce them and curb the increasing phenomenon like child pornography.
The government should prepare guidelines for all Internet service providers and Internet cafes. Above all, parents are the first to prevent their children from accessing pornography; they must keep an eye on their loved ones.
In order to comply with the promises made in the document of Optional Protocol, Pakistan must introduce a law in which stringent punishment provisions be introduced against violators and must also address the social and economic causes that are at the root of the problems, creating barriers to the ability of children to attain their rights.
UMBREEN KHOSO
Islamabad
Source: Dawn
Date:7/14/2011
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