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THE
Pakistan government fulfilled its international
commitments on human rights when it ratified and signed
recently the covenants on these rights.
Pakistan,
through its permanent representative to the United
Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram, ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights and signed the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, and the Convention Against Torture
on April 17, the Pakistani foreign ministry in Islamabad
said in a press statement released by its embassy in
Manila.
The brief ceremonies were held at the UN headquarters in
New York.
The
signing occurred a couple of months after a democratic
election that installed a new government, with Yusuf
Raza Gillani as prime minister.
Pakistan
is already a party to the International Convention on
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Rights
of the Child and to the core International Labor
Organization Conventions 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, 111, 138
and 182.
“Joining
the main international human rights instruments reflects
the commitment of the democratic government to promote
human rights in Pakistan, including the rights of women,
children, minorities and the underprivileged,” the
Pakistani foreign ministry said.
It said
Pakistan’s ratification of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights commits the
government to ensure the full realization of the
economic, social and cultural rights of the people of
Pakistan
enshrined in the Covenant, including the elimination of
economic injustice and poverty.
Its
signing of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, as well as the Convention Against
Torture, the foreign ministry said, “Reflects the
Pakistan government’s renewed commitment to promote
civil and political rights of its people and to protect
them from inhuman and degrading treatment in accordance
with internationally recognized legal standards.
“They
also demonstrate the resolve of the government to
strengthen democracy and create a just society which is
free of suffering and deprivation.” |
