PAKISTAN: Stop Merger of Ministry of Human Rights with Ministry of Law & Justice

History repeats itself now with Nawaz Sharif again deciding to abolish the MoHR, recreated in 2008 by the previous government of Pakistan People's Party. The incumbent government has also lifted the moratorium on death sentences.which had remained in force for the past five years.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the government of Pakistan has merged the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) with the Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ) on June 7, allegedly to pursue its policy of denying people their fundamental rights under the constitution. The government’s decision will result in Parliament not being able to closely monitor human rights issues. This will undermine the importance of human rights and human rights violations in the country. It is not the first time that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has abolished the ministry of human rights as an independent entity. When he came in power in 1997, he did the exact same thing with the MoHR, due to his political rivalry with former Prime Minister Benazir Butto. Benazir Butto had, during her first tenure in 1988, also formed a Human Rights Cell in the Prime Minister Secretariat. This too was abolished in 1990 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. History repeats itself now with Nawaz Sharif again deciding to abolish the MoHR, recreated in 2008 by the previous government of Pakistan People’s Party. The incumbent government has also lifted the moratorium on death sentences, which had remained in force for the past five years. Please sign the urgent appeal and urge international human rights organizations, including the UN, to use their influence on the present government so it may restore the Ministry of Human Rights as an independent entity and abolish the death sentences.

After the merger of the Human Rights Ministry, there would only be one minister dealing with law and legal affairs, matters related to the justice system, and all issues pertaining to human rights and survivors of HR abuses. In other words, affairs related to human rights will most likely become a third priority for the minister in-charge. Difference between the mandates of the Ministry of law and the Ministry of human rights is inconceivable for the government under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The mandate of the Ministry of law and justice is to defend laws and represent the state in courts on all matters including those pertaining to human rights violations by the state. On the other hand, the mandate of the Ministry of human rights is to redress the grievances of the survivors/victims and to protect and safeguard the rights of the people and their interests. The merger decision will also affect the rights of women. The subject of Women’s Development had been retained federally under the Ministry of human rights and now women issues will lose priority and focus. The same will be the case with the rights of children, youth, and religious minority groups, which will all be undermined. The ill-intentions of the incumbent government against human rights can be judged by its lifting the moratorium on death sentences and starting the process of hanging prisoners on death row. The previous government of the Pakistan People’s Party had suspended executions during its tenure that expired on June 30 this year. The government has not consulted other political parties in taking its decision to proceed with executing death sentences. Further undoing undo steps taken by the last government towards reform, the government of Nawaz Sharif has suspended the process that was leading to the formation of a National Human Rights Commission (NCHR) supposed to be established in accord with an act of Parliament passed in May 2012. The MoHR had been working on drafting legislation on custodial torture and rehabilitation of torture survivors . It had almost completed consultations with civil society. After the merger, legislation against torture will be put on the back burner. Read More: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAG-003-2013