PROTOCOL BETWEEN U.K. AND PAKISTAN IN RESPECT OF CUSTODY OF CHILDREN

LIST OF NOTIFICATIONS REPRODUCED IN THE <!--[if gte mso 9]> PROTOCOL BETWEEN U.K. AND PAKISTAN IN RESPECT OF CUSTODY OF CHILDREN By Mr. Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court The President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales and the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan met on 15‑1‑2003 in the Royal Court of Justice in England and signed a protocol for protecting the child against international parental child abduction. Subsequently, the President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales came to Pakistan to meet the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for considering issues relating to the implementation of the protocol. In the conference held on that occasion, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court delivered the following speech: "I feel honoured for having been provided the opportunity to make before this august gathering some observations about the Protocol for the return of children who Ire victims of International Parental Abduction signed by Dame Elizabeth Butler‑Sloss, DBE, President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales and the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad, Chief Justice of Pakistan on 15‑1‑2003 in the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The object of the Protocol between the two countries is to ensure expeditious decision of applications for return of children wrongfully removed from one country to the other on the assumption that in the normal circumstances the welfare of a child is best determined by the Court of the country of the child's habitual/ordinary residence. 2. When we speak of children the use of the trite expression "child is the father of man" cannot be resisted because it embraces an everlasting truth. Child is the leader of the future. He is in himself a complete human being with all the physical, emotional and psychological requirements. The ultimate fate of a Nation finally hinges on him. The virtue, integrity, propriety and capacity of a Nation are directly and substantially reflected in the child. In view of the paramount importance that a child holds in the scheme of the, universe, he deserves to be given utmost care. Without doing this progress in the real sense would not be possible. The protection of the child from all kinds of hazards is a pre requisite for his development and to ensure progress and prosperity of mankind. The protection of the child is also a religious, moral as well as a social duty of everyone because the child being helpless and weak is totally dependent. Besides real progress depends on his training in the right direction. Because of its immense importance the subject of child protection and child welfare has all along recent history engaged the attention of the international community. The covenant of the League of Nations demanded entrustment to the League the general supervision over the execution of agreements with regard to trafficking of women and children. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 adopted unanimously by the General Assembly of the United Nations contains specific provisions regarding the rights and interests of children and accordingly proclaims that the child is entitled to special care and assistance. The Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1996 and the Covenant of Civil and Political Rights 1966 contain specific safeguards for the welfare and protection of children. 3. Besides the adoption of general human rights instruments, other instruments of specialized character focussing exclusively on child rights were formulated. These include the Geneva Declaration of the Rights' of Child 1924 which affirms the need for special care and attention to child welfare. It was later on reviewed for enlarging its scope and contents. The revised draft called the Declaration of the Rights of the Child 1959 was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Mentioning certain essential rights of the child, the Declaration obliged the family, the society, governmental and non‑governmental organizations to work for the realization and enforcement of child rights. To focus attention on the problems of neglect, abuse and exploitation of children and to mobilize support for taking additional measures for their welfare, the international community observed the year 1979 as the International Year of the Child. That year, Poland proposed a new and more comprehensive international Convention on the rights of the child. After deliberations stretching over a decade, a draft based upon the proposal was presented to the General Assembly and was unanimously approved in 1989. In a short span of four years since its enforcement, the Convention was ratified by 167 States. In terms of the number of accessions the Convention stands only second to the Charter of the United Nations. The overwhelming response received by the Convention, demonstrates the concern of the international community in relation to the rights of the child. Commenting on the Convention, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General United Nations observed that-- "The way a society treats children reflects not only its qualities of compassion and protective caring but also its sense of justice, its commitment to the future and its urge to enhance the human condition for coming generations. This is as indisputably true of the community of nations as it is of nations individually. With the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations has given the global community an international instrument of high quality protecting the dignity, equality and basic human rights of the word's children." It is a matter of pride and pleasure that Pakistan is an early signatory to the document. Pakistan is also a party to the World Declaration on Survival, Protection and Development of Children adopted at the World Summit on Children held in New York in September, 1990. A specific segment of human rights of the children has received treatment through the Hague Convention of the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The object of this Convention is to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful removal and detention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the State of their habitual residence as well as to secure protection for rights of access. In other words the Convention seeks to provide a remedy for the child abuse described as International Child Abduction. A more specific sector of this kind of abduction is International Parental Child Abduction. In a reliable study it has been remarked that‑‑ "Parental Child Abduction is a crime against humanity which is aimed at destroying the basic roots and identity of a child. Parental Child Abduction is an ongoing life long process which works primarily on the concerned child but as well on the left behind environment and the abducting environment. Because of the harmful effects on children, parental abducting has been known as a form of child abuse. Abducted children suffer emotionally and sometime physically at the hands of abductor parents. Many children are told that either the parent is dead or no longer loves them. Uprooted from the family, many abducted children often are instructed by their abducting parents not to reveal their real names or where they lived before. In child stealing the children are used as both objects and weapons in the struggle between the parents which leads to the brutalization of the children psychologically and specifically destroying their sense of trust in the world around them. In view of the formidable threat that this child abuse poses to mankind it should be our foremost priority to take all possible measures to banish it. The Protocol under discussion is a step towards the achievement of this goal. The historical bond of interest and friendly relations which we have with the United Kingdom will be strengthened by our cooperating with the U.K. for the eradication of this evil. The Lahore High Court has already made its humble contribution by issuing instructions to all the subordinate Courts for the implementation of the Protocol. May God bless our endeavours in this connection."