Senate pushes harder for human rights
Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD: Two days after condemning with one voice enforced disappearances in the country and calling for an end to them, the Senate on Friday took a more concrete step by suggesting the creation of a human rights court in the federal capital.
It did so by enlarging the scope of a bill on establishing a national human rights commission that the National Assembly had passed and sent it to the Senate for approval. It amended the bill to empower the proposed commission to deal with the complaints of human rights violations by members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies also.
In proposing the establishment of a human rights court in Islamabad, the Senate hoped the provinces would follow suit.
With these amendments, the bill will now go to a joint session of the Senate and the National Assembly for voting and turning it into an Act of Parliament.
According to the amendments, the National Human Rights Commission on its own motion or on receipt of a petition against members of the armed forces will seek report from the federal government, and make recommendation to the federal government.
The federal government will inform the commission of the action taken on the recommendation within three months or an extended time as the commission may deem appropriate.
The commission will refer the complaint of human rights violations by spy agencies to the `competent authorities concerned` and later follow the procedure as for the complaints against the armed forces.
The senate had blocked in January the bill envisaging the setting up of a national human rights commission and decided to thoroughly examine the draft unanimously approved by the National Assembly to make the proposed body completely independent and free from political interference.
The bill was on the agenda and was scheduled to be tabled by Prime Minister`s Human Rights Adviser Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, but was referred to house committees on human rights and law and justice on the demand of senators who, otherwise, supported its objective, but expressed apprehensions of the commission turning into a wing of bureaucracy with a lot of political interference in its functioning.
A sub-committee of the Senate body, with prominent legal and constitutional expert S M Zafar as its convenor thoroughly examined the bill and incorporated various new clauses aimed at making the commission a powerful, impartial and trustworthy body.
Other members of the sub-committee included Syed Zafar Ali Shah (PML-N), Nayyar Hussain Bokhari (PPP) and Professor Khurshid Ahmed (Jamaat-e-Islami).
Another addition in the bill widens the scope of the definition of human rights to include political rights and women rights. It also provides for appointment of Chairperson of the National Commission on the status of women (NCSW) as ex-officio member of the commission. To make the commission free from government influence while looking towards it for grants, it provides for passage of the grant by the parliament in the budget.
The formation of a national commission on human rights was a basic criterion of the United Nations to judge the human rights commitment of the member states, and is pending for 18 years after a UN resolution adopted in 1993 bound all member states to form such commissions.
According to Prime Minister Adviser on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, Pakistan plans to present the first report on the human rights situation in the country to the United Nations in May, without hiding any aspect.
Alluding towards the much talked about enforced disappearances, he said these were individual acts and the state was not involved in such incidents.
Under the bill, the federal government would constitute the commission, headed by a chairperson qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or high court with known interest and experience in the field of human rights, and he/she would only be removed if the government would send a reference, like that in the case of a judge.
The chairperson would be appointed for four years, while one member from each province, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit-Baltistan and the federal capital, two members from minority communities would constitute the body.
The commission`s secretary, to be appointed by the federal government, shall be a person qualified to be appointed as federal secretary. The commission will also include three female members.
A member shall not be less than 30 years of age and shall be known for knowledge and experience in human rights. Headquarter of the commission will be in the Islamabad and it may establish its offices at all provincial headquarters and at such others place it may consider appropriate.
The chairperson and other member shall be appointed by the president on advice of the prime minister.
For each vacancy of chairperson or member, the federal government shall, after consultation with relevant stakeholders in fair and transparent manner, recommend and submit to the prime minister three names.
The function and power of the commission include inquire into or take suo motu action on a petition submitted by a victim or any person on his behalf into complaint of violation of human rights.
The members of the commission could visit any jail or any other institution under the control of the government where convicts or under-trial prisoners are serving their sentences.
The commission will also review the safeguard provided by or under the constitution or any law for the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend adaptation of new legislation and the amendment of administrative measures for their effective implementation.
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