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Abstract
Pakistan as party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is bound to establish a formal child protection system. However, according to the traditional societal values, child and family matters are considered to be a private affair allowing least state intervention. Being a federation, child protection in Pakistan is a provincial subject. The progress in enacting child protection legislation varies from province to province. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has promulgated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act in 2010, and drafted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Rules 2013. Sindh has enacted the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011, and Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013. The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act was promulgated in 2004, and revised in 2007. The Balochistan Child Welfare and Protection Bill has been approved by the cabinet and approval from the Provincial Assembly is shortly expected. This paper highlights the salient features of these laws and the in-built struggle to find a balance between the country's international obligations and the local societal values relating child protection. Three major issues concerning the current legislation emerge, namely: the challenge of defining the concept of child protection for practice; the establishment of formal administrative and institutional structures (including secondary legislation) mandated to implement the legal provisions; and the need for systematic effort to cope with the environment of a societal reluctance. Suggestions are offered to address these issues for the evolving child protection system to head in the right direction and to be effective and efficient.
Keywords: Child protection, legislative provisions, legal and administrative implications, societal values, Pakistan
Introduction
Pakistan has ratified a number of international treaties which provide children with special protections. Amongst these international commitments, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is most significant as it shapes the national policy guidelines on children's issues. The UNCRC gives special emphasis to children's protection rights. Articles on protection against discrimination (Article 2), registration after birth (Article 7), protection against abuse, neglect and exploitation within the family or in care (Article19), adoption (Article 21), disability (Article 23), protection from economic exploitation, from the illicit use of drugs, from sexual exploitation and abuse, from abduction, sale and trafficking and all other forms of...