The FCDO-funded Aawaz II programme aims to work with the government and local communities to promote the rights.
Islamabad : Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazir Tarar addressed the Aawaz-II ceremony, he said Government is taking steps for the betterment of the people, Everyone will have to work hard for the development of the society.
He said government welcomes positive suggestions, despite limited resources, they are trying to solve the problems of the people, Law Minister said Government trying to ensure the protection of human rights.
The provincial governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh have pledged to continue reforms on addressing child marriage, birth registration, child protection, gender-based violence (GBV) and social inclusion initiated under the FCDO-funded Aawaz II programme. The programme has made significant progress on civil registration and vital statistics, while working to scale pilot initiatives on child protection and support mechanism for the survivors of gender-based violence.
The Aawaz II programme, which started in 2017, has supported pilots such as the Anti-Rape Crisis Cells (ARCC), District Child Protection Units (DCPU) and Women Protection Centres (WPC) which the provincial governments are now using as models to scale and expand. The innovative digital birth registration model is already scaled up by the respective provincial governments. The community engagement in 42 districts of Pakistan has demonstrated meaningful ways to address GBV, child marriage and exclusion of vulnerable communities. It has also developed Early Warning Systems (EWS) to pre-empt conflicts while working closely with the local administration.
The programme has worked on effective implementation of existing legislations on inclusion. It has established a mechanism for the accountability of Nikkah khwans and Nikkah registrars. On child protection, it has established one-stop protection centres, supported child labour surveys, operationalised a 24/7 helpline, while facilitating the registration of over 3.5 million births. A crucial achievement of the programme has been to pilot the interoperability of birth registration in health facilities to ensure no child is missed.
Aawaz II has also made strides on ensuring protection of women through improved domestic violence legislation, establishing helplines for survivors, and building Anti-Rape Crisis Cells that offer medical, psychosocial and legal services under one roof.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
