The writer is a legal adviser for the International Commission of Jurists. IT has been more than 10 years since Pakistan ratified the ICCPR and the Convention against Torture, and even longer since it became party to other core UN human rights treaties such as CEDAW and ICESCR. By becoming party to these treaties, Pakistan undertook an obligation that binds all branches of the state to promote, respect, protect and fulfil human rights. However, there still remains confusion regarding Pakistan’s commitment to the international human rights regime and the relevance of international human rights standards in guiding the country’s laws, policies and jurisprudence. Such lack of clarity is most pronounced in the conduct of government as well as jurisprudence of courts. Pakistan is at present a member of the UN Human Rights Council. In its pledge in support of its candidacy for the UNHRC, Pakistan expressed its “enduring commitment to the international human rights system” and said it “considers human rights as the bedrock of peaceful, inclusive and prosperous societies”. In sharp contrast to Pakistan’s lofty claims before international forums, international human rights largely remain a maligned concept domestically and the government actively resists any scrutiny of Pakistan’s human […]
