Pakistan Human Rights Commission publishes list of demands to protect disappeared persons

Lahore [Pakistan]August 30 (ANI): The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Saturday issued a charter of demands urging Pakistan to end the heinous practice of enforced disappearances.

The HRCP Charter states that enforced disappearances are a crime against humanity under international law. The eight-point charter calls for the prompt and safe repatriation of all victims of enforced disappearances and their bringing to justice.

Furthermore, all defendants must be treated according to the law and their right to due process and a fair trial must be upheld.

The Charter also requires that enforced disappearances be treated as a top priority, that the practice be criminalised and rules against it be enacted; that the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance be implemented in Pakistan; and that those responsible for carrying out or facilitating enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture of forcibly disappeared persons be held accountable.

In addition, the Charter states that a transparent mechanism must be established to enable victims and their families to seek and receive redress for violations of their rights to liberty and to a fair trial, that victims' families must be allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly without hindrance and safely, and that the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances must be invited to the country for an inspection.

Meanwhile, HRCP has also released a report highlighting human trafficking violations in Pakistan. The report stresses that human trafficking must be viewed in the context of human rights violations, as victims of human trafficking are subjected to torture, extortion, rape, extortion, imprisonment and even death.

The report highlighted that illegal migration by trafficking networks is often the result of economic coercion, the HRCP report said. However, human trafficking has not received as much attention as other exploitative activities such as trafficking in persons, as there has been a general perception that migrants choose to cross borders illegally voluntarily, thereby accepting the hardships and exploitation of the journey.

The report documented in detail the journey of an illegal migrant who had turned to a human trafficking network to reach Turkey (overland through Balochistan and Iran) from Punjab, Pakistan.

According to the report, the main causes of illegal migration from Pakistan are unemployment, lack of opportunities, poverty, insecurity and conflict. Human traffickers have specialized in targeting young and vulnerable people and persuading them to emigrate to Western countries.

The organized operations of trafficking networks resemble those of criminal enterprises. These networks are self-sustaining and many former refugees become traffickers themselves. (ANI)