LAHORE: The conveners of Juvenile Justice Advocacy Network Pakistan (JJANP) have urged the government to ensure that juveniles who get in conflict with the law are given due rights as embodied in the 2018 Act and UN Convention on the Rights of Child in line with Article 37.
In a statement issued here, the JJANP Convenors reiterated their commitment to continue raising voices against rampant violence against children across Pakistan.
Saira Ahmad, the convener of Sindh along with other convenors of JJANP are of the view that the practice of the death penalty and life imprisonment should be abolished for juveniles allegedly convicted of heinous offences including terrorism or blasphemy. Moreover, the investigation of criminal cases should be made fair and transparent by the Criminal Code of Procedure to make sure that the juveniles without any shadow of a doubt are declared as juveniles if any material evidence on the age of the arrested person discloses him less than 18 years of age. This procedure has to be adopted by the police and law enforcement and agencies as warranted in Section 8 of the Act 2018. The JJANP emphasizes making Juvenile Justice Committees active and functional across Pakistan to resolve cases of children in conflict with minor laws.
Juvenile Justice System demands due rights be given and ensured to all juveniles who come in conflict with the law, starting from the time of the arrest until the completion of trial and, if applicable, during detention while serving the sentence. The problem within Pakistan is that there is no direct and complete procedure available for age determination of arrested person. The age determination has to be done at the earliest stage such as during physical remand proceedings by the police investigation officer. The police officers/investigation officers intentionally or unintentionally do not treat an arrested person as juvenile if that appears to be juvenile in order to avoid their duties rising under the JJSA 2018.
Lastly, the press release highlighted that JJANP Sindh Chapter will hold its inaugural meeting in the running month.
