The Ministry of Human Rights has set up Pakistan’s first Human Rights Information Resource Portal, developed in partnership with the European Union in Pakistan.
The portal has been envisioned to serve as a central repository of up-to-date and cutting-edge human rights knowledge for students, academics, practitioners and the citizenry at large.
The portal will serve as a platform for increasing awareness about human rights laws, practices, and gaps; facilitating the development of new initiatives, research, policies, and solutions in the field of human rights in Pakistan. It will include comprehensive material on Pakistan’s domestic institutional human rights framework and international commitments; as well as relevant reports and publications that have been published by the government, civil society organizations and UN agencies on critical human rights issues.
The portal will enable users to learn about rights guaranteed to them through the Constitution as well as federal and provincial legislations. Laws are categorized according to provinces as well as thematic areas including civil, political and economic rights; child’s rights; women’s rights; and rights of minorities. Information is also available on various institutions and bodies designed to promote and protect human rights at the federal and provincial level; including legislative bodies, human rights committees, provincial human rights departments, and statutory bodies.
Comprehensive training resources and materials will also be available on the portal for the benefit of human rights practitioners and personnel. The training resources cover a range of topics such as Pakistan’s International Human Rights Obligations and Human Rights Data Collection and Documentation. Further custom training resources will be aimed at enhancing capacity of the judiciary, prosecution, and law enforcement agencies.
Speaking about the launch of the portal, Federal Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari said, “The Human Rights Resource Portal is an important and innovative initiative that increases the availability and accessibility of information that is integral for promulgating greater awareness about human rights in Pakistan. Ultimately we are hopeful that it will cultivate greater civic engagement and play a part in creating an enabling environment for citizens to exercise their rights in Pakistan.”
Secretary for Human Rights Inamullah Khan also spoke about the significance of this initiative. “The collaboration between the European Union in Pakistan and the Ministry of Human Rights in establishing this portal is a quintessential step towards ensuring good governance. The platform will ensure that students, academics, practitioners, policy makers and the general public have access to updated and relevant information for the protection and promotion of human rights in Pakistan.”
The Ambassador of the European Union, Ms Androulla Kaminara, also emphasised her appreciation of this initiative that is in line with the priority 2 of the Democracy, Rule of Law, Good Governance, and Human Rights of the Strategic engagement plan concluded between the Government of Pakistan and the European Union. She stated “Access to information is crucial for citizens in an open democratic and transparent society. The comprehensive collection and digitalization of key information about Human Rights in Pakistan and open access to all Pakistani citizens is an important step towards this goal.”
The portal can be accessed on the Ministry of Human Rights website.
