Joint session approves body as EU links access to GSP-Plus to stronger protection of human resources
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Tuesday approved a law creating the National Commission for Minority Rights and giving it broad powers to summon people as witnesses, swear in their statements and seek support from the higher judiciary to grant minorities their rights.
A joint session of Parliament approved the law as part of the European Union (EU) conditions for maintaining duty-free access of Pakistani products to markets in the 27-nation bloc. The joint session passed the law with a majority of 160 votes to 79, just a day before the EU’s GSP-Plus monitoring mission’s first recommendations to the government.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar tabled the bill despite strong opposition from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI). The PTI tried to link the issue to religion, which was fiercely opposed by Law Minister Tarar and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
“The opposition tried to give a bad color to the bill,” Dar said, while condemning opposition MPs for using religion for political purposes. Tarar clarified that “neither the law and the Constitution, nor our conscience allows us to make a proposal that contradicts the Quran and the Sunnah.”
Parliament adopts the law at a time when an EU delegation led by Sergio Balibrea, advisor to the Directorate General of Trade, is visiting Pakistan. The mission will submit its report by February next year and this will also serve as the basis for the new SPG-Plus system.
Pakistan’s exports are taking a nosedive again with a decline of 6.4% in just five months of this financial year. The stability of the country’s external sector depends on maintaining GSP-Plus duty-free access to European markets, which helps offset inefficiencies and the high cost of Pakistani products.
The visiting EU delegation expressed concerns about the status of minority rights, human rights and freedom of expression, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
The Minister of Justice clarified that non-Muslims are defined in the Constitution and there is no change in the definition of non-Muslims. “This is a commission for non-Muslims. Our Hindu, Christian and Parsi brothers are as good Pakistanis as we are,” he added. The minister recalled that a 2014 Supreme Court ruling called for the creation of a commission for minorities.
The president had previously returned the bill due to objections over definitions of human rights, minorities, lack of clarity on the appointment of the commission chairman and administrative and financial powers. The minister said all objections raised by the President have been taken into account in the revised legislation.
According to the Bill, the provisions of this Act have effect despite anything to the contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force. Human rights have been defined as the rights relating to life, liberty and dignity of citizens guaranteed and included in international instruments, including political rights and women’s rights.
Minorities have the same meaning as defined in Article 260 of the Constitution and minority rights include human rights in general, special guarantees and protections provided by law and any positive measures and political incentives in favor of minorities, which may be exercised individually and collectively.
The chairman of the commission will be appointed for four years and this person must be a Pakistani citizen aged at least 35 years. The National Assembly Secretariat would initiate and complete the process of appointing the chairperson of the committee within 60 days.
Powers
The commission will have the power to evaluate and monitor the implementation of constitutional guarantees and guarantees for the promotion and protection of minority rights. It would review and revise existing or proposed policies or programs, action plans, legislation, rules, regulations, administrative instruments or other positive measures.
It will recommend amendments, give advice or offer suggestions to the authorities concerned on the prevention of discrimination and the protection of minority rights.
The commission would study the application of international minorities, rights, agreements and conventions and provide the government with reports, proposals or recommendations necessary for the effective application of these rights or agreements and conventions.
The commission may, on its own initiative or upon application by a victim or any person acting on his or her behalf, investigate complaints regarding any violation of minority rights or any complicity or assistance therein by any organization, public or private, or any agency, department, authority or instrumentality of any federal, provincial or local government.
It may take care of any negligence or willful violation of any provision of law in preventing a fair and independent investigation or inquiry into such violation by any person or authority and would monitor the status of implementation of minority rights and judgments and, if necessary, seek the lenient notice and support of the higher judiciary to effectively deal with any bottleneck, in accordance with law.
The Commission can submit special reports to Parliament through the government on any issue relating to minorities and in particular on the challenges faced by them.
He will participate in international forums and interact with human rights experts from around the world; take special measures for the integration of all groups among minorities, including Dalits and Scheduled Castes, to promote solidarity and eliminate racial discrimination and recommend policy measures for social emancipation, in accordance with law.
The commission will have full powers to create new jobs and eliminate old jobs. He will have full powers to allocate funds from one account head to another account head and to sanction expenditure on any item within the allocated budget.
Complaint investigation
The commission, when investigating complaints of violations of minority rights, may request information or a report from the government or any other authority or organization, in accordance with the law.
The commission, when investigating complaints, has all the powers of a civil court, trying an action under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 with respect to summoning and compelling the attendance of witnesses and examining them under oath; requiring the discovery and production of documents as required by law.
The commission will receive evidence in the form of affidavits; requisition any public record or copy from any court or office; and issue a commission for the hearing of witnesses or documents.
The commission shall have the power to require any person, subject to any privilege that may be claimed by that person, to furnish information on matters or matters which, in the opinion of the commission, may be useful or relevant to the subject matter of the investigation, the law states.
When the investigation reveals a violation of minority rights or negligence in preventing the violation of minority rights by a public official; it may recommend to the government or authority concerned the initiation of legal proceedings or any other action that the commission deems appropriate against the persons concerned.
It may recommend to the government or authority concerned the granting of immediate interim measures to the victim or members of his or her family as the commission deems necessary. The commission may recommend any disciplinary action to the competent authority against any person or employee for non-compliance with the order of the commission.
