RIGHTS OF A CHILD* OBSERVATIONS

RIGHTS OF A CHILD* <!--[if gte mso 10]> RIGHTS OF A CHILD* OBSERVATIONS By Dr. Nasim Hasan Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan I feel greatly honoured to be asked to make some observations on the conclusion of this Seminar on the "Rights of a Child" wherein extremely informative and thought provoking Papers have been presented. * Mr. Justice Nasim Hasan Shah was Chief Guest at the Seminar on the "Right of a Child" organized by the Maternity and Child Welfare Association of Pakistan on 25-5-1991 at Lahore. In a knowledgeable study on this issue it has been said: "Today, when the 20th Century is in its last decade is not a tragedy that more than a quarter of a million small children should still be dying every week of easily preventable illness and malnutrition. Every day measles, whooping cough and tetanus, all of which can be prevented by an inexpensive course of vaccines, should kill almost 8,000 children. Every day diarrhoeal dehydration, which can be prevented at almost no cost, should kill almost 7,000 children. Every day pneumonia, which can be treated by low-cost antibiotics should kill more than 6,000 children. Death and suffering on this scale is simply no longer acceptable: Morality must march with capacity. Every single one of those deaths is the death of a child who had a personality and a potential, a family and a future. And for every child who dies, several more live on with malnutrition and ill-health and are thereby unable to fulfil the mental and physical potential with which they were born. Such facts shame and diminish us all. Civilization and progress are not entities to be measured only by GNP and technological capacity. They are also measured by the development of human conscience, by the degree to which it is offended and the extent to which it acts when faced by the facts of human suffering, the denial of human needs, the violation of human rights". Undoubtedly it should be one of the most urgent priorities of the human race to bring to an end this silent carnage engulfing every child, born or still to be born. I am informed that there are 48 million mothers and children in Pakistan, that every year 4 million new babies are born here, but unfortunately out of every million babies that are horn, more than 6,000 new born babies die at birth; whereas in the Western countries harldly 60 babies out of every million born die at birth. This dismial situation exists in Pakistan, notwithstanding the high sounding principles of policy we have enshrined in Article 35 of our Constitution that "the State shall protected the marriage, the family, the mother and the child" It is the responsibility to all of us to arrest and correct this sad situation. Hopefully, the world community is becoming increasingly alive to this tragic situation and the General Assembly of the United Nations has recently adopted a "Convention on the rights of the child". This Convention aims to set universal standards for the defence of children against neglect, exploitation and abuse. Three main areas of the rights of the child are principally sought to be safeguarded by its provisions: One: The right of survival, through access to health care services (such as immunization and oral rehydration therapy) and to an adequate standard of living (including food, clean water and place to live); Two: The right to development through access to education, to rest and leisure, of freedom of expression and information and to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and Three: The right to protection to mentally or physically disabled or parentless children and to children who are separated from their parents or found in other unfortunate circumstances. Besides it also covers economic, sexual and other forms of child exploitation. Although the convention has not, if my information is not outdated, yet been ratified by the requisite number of States to become enforceable but it sets the standards for every one concerned with the health, development and protection of children and provides a universally valid point of reference everywhere for advocacy on behalf of the rights of the children. We have this evening been greatly benefited by the valuable papers which have been read, highlighting the different aspects of this grave problem and how we are endeavouring of do cope with them. The task, however, is stupendous but it is satisfying to see that the Maternity & Child Welfare Association, Lahore, under the dynamic leadership of its office-bearers has been rendering valuable services in this important field for the last 30 years. But the great work required for protecting and safeguarding the future development of children involving their immunization, providing adequate water, health care and education to them and to their mothers, steps which are absolutely essential to enable the child to enjoy a healthy existence, free from malnutrition, ill-health and abuse, cannot be done by this Association alone. It is only through a concerted national effort spearheaded by the State itself can any success be possible, in this behalf. Unfortunately, the State authorities are not exerting themselves to the extent that is necessary for accomplishing the goal. Ours is an Islamic Welfare State and its administrators must remember that the Holy prophet exhorted the believers, time and again to show "love and affection" to the children. Additionally, in Pakistan, as I said earlier, it is an obligation cast on the State by the Constitution to protect, inter alia, the child. I would, therefore, appeal to our Health Authorities to fulfil this responsibility with the earnestness and seriousness that it demands. It is only then that a healthy future for our children, who are our hopes for tomorrow, shall be possible. In the end, I would again congratulate the Maternity and Child Welfare Association for all that it has done and for all that it is doing in the field of protecting and looking after the health of our children. May God Bless their endeavours and grant them greater successes in the noble cause for which they are striving in the future. ***