Consultative workshop held to discuss KP Human Rights Defender Bill.

PESHAWAR -- A civil society consultative workshop on 'KP Human Rights Defenders Recognition and Protection Bill' was organized by the Blue Veins in collaboration with the Directorate General of Law and Human Rights, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to facilitate interactive discussion among civil society organizations on the draft of the bill.

The bill was earlier introduced in KP by Asia Saleh Khattak in 2019 and was referred to the Directorate General for Human Rights by the Assembly.

The proposed draft describes the Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) as those who whether paid or working payment act or seek to defend, promote, protect or strive for the defense, protection, and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed to the individuals under the Constitution and laws and other institutions and international treaties and instruments at the local, national, regional and international levels.

The participants of the workshop proclaimed that Pakistan committed itself to protecting and safeguarding the rights of human rights defenders as a member of the UN General Assembly, which adopted the Declaration on HRDs in 1998. "Therefore, it is high time that such commitments are recalled and honored by the KP government with the facilitation of civil society and other relevant stakeholders."

The members of the civil society organizations called on the provincial government's earlier commitment made in 2018, which called for the enactment of the law to recognize and protect HRDs, the human rights policy notified by the law, human rights, and the parliamentary department. In addition, the KP Human Rights Action Plan recognizes this legislation as a priority and is supposed to be enacted by December 2022.

Mover of the bill MPA Asia Saleh...