EDITORIAL: Pakistan’s struggles with establishing the rule of law for the most vulnerable members of its population has meant that legal protections for the country’s 107 million children continue to be woefully inadequate.
Despite a range of child right laws being passed during the last decade, these have still not resulted in the establishment of a wide-ranging child protection ecosystem that is equitable, empathetic and child-centred.
Supreme Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s observations on this pressing national concern on December 7 at the unveiling of an initiative focusing on justice for children highlighted the urgent need for reformation of societal attitudes and systemic reforms to ensure that the rights of millions of Pakistani children, and specifically those languishing in the prison system, are effectively upheld.
Although numerous laws govern juvenile justice in Pakistan, their implementation has remained slack, and characterised by not just an absence of ownership by relevant stakeholders, too often there also appears to be a fundamental lack of understanding – even among judges and especially those of the lower courts – of the purpose behind juvenile justice: to uphold the best interests of children, with a primary focus on rehabilitation and reintegration into society rather than on punishment.
As Justice Shah noted, there is an urgent need to sensitise judges of district courts regarding this aspect as the justice system has the tendency to treat children like ordinary adults, completely ignoring the special attention and care they require.
Pakistan’s criminal justice system, including its approach to juvenile justice, has significant shortcomings, which means that children in conflict with the law are routinely denied their fundamental rights, including access to rehabilitation-focused measures, fair trials and protection from harsh punitive actions. To compound these failings, the snail-paced speed of legal proceedings and inadequate training of law enforcement and judicial officers in handling juvenile cases result in prolonged detentions, violating the right to a swift and fair legal process, and exposing vulnerable children to the risk of abuse and neglect that can hamper their mental and emotional development.
Moreover, the lack of appropriate rehabilitation and education programmes in detention facilities further perpetuates their vulnerability, reducing their chances of successful reintegration into society.
Data from 2021 provided by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child put the number of juveniles in Pakistani prisons to be between 1,500 and 2,000, with the majority of these simply awaiting trial.
The seemingly small number of children in prisons shouldn’t mask the severity of the issue. Every single child in detention represents untapped potential and unrecognised talent, whose future can be shaped by providing the right opportunities for growth, education and rehabilitation, as well as the quick disposal of their cases. It is crucial, therefore, to establish more juvenile courts across the country – as mandated by the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018 – that focus on speedy resolution of cases. Currently, there are only nine such entities operating in the country, a clearly insufficient number.
As advocated by Justice Shah, more juvenile courts that provide children with a proper chance to be heard, receive appropriate legal protections according to their age and vulnerability, and avoid prolonged detention are the need of the hour.
The fact remains that child offenders are a product of their circumstances beyond their control. The cycle of grinding poverty, neglect, exploitation and lack of access to education forces them into criminal activities as a means of survival or escape.
Addressing these root causes through social support systems, educational opportunities and stronger enforcement of child protection laws is critical to breaking this cycle, along with an overhaul of the juvenile justice system so that it focuses on rehabilitation and addressing the underlying social factors of juvenile crime.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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