Britain funding project to train Pakistan judges

LONDON, March 18 (APP)-The United Kingdom is funding a project to train Pakistan family judges on cases relating to child abduction.

According to the annual report on human rights 2009 published by Foreign and Commonwealth Office and launched by the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the Lancaster House on Wednesday evening, the judges are to be trained under the bilateral judicial agreement on child abduction.

The UK has a similar agreement with Egypt on how to handle child abduction cases. With reference to Pakistan, the report says, "We will be funding a project to train Pakistan family judges on the UK-Pakistan protocol. In recognition that court-imposed custody issues and that arrangements to which both the parents agree can be more sustainable, we have also been developing other avenues for resolving cases including international mediation."

In the 2009, FCO funded the NGO Reunite to train mediators in Pakistan and Egypt to help parents have contact with their children or have them returned to the UK.

On the issue of 'forced marriage' prevalent in the South Asian sub-continent, the report mentioned the excellent performance of the Assistance Unit based in the British High Commission in Islamabad which won the UK Civil Service Award for Diversity and Equality.

The award recognised the Unit's innovative approach to tackling the practice of forced marriage were as well as directly helping victims, they have undertaken an active outreach and awareness programme among the local communities.

Furthermore, the report also noted progress made by the Pakistani government on improving human rights situation despite the serious challenges that faced the civilian government, exacerbated both by a serious economic crisis and a concerted and violent campaign of suicide attacks by violent extremists in major cities throughout the country.

"Pakistani civil society particularly its media, remains strong and vocal, frequently calling the Pakistani authorities to account."

The report also spoke about the support for military action in Swat by the galvanised civil society horrified by the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Taliban.

Such abuses, particularly against women and girls, caused widespread outrage in Pakistan, the report said.

It said between 2007 and 2010, Euros 200 million of general assistance will fund projects focused on specific themes including humanitarian assistance, democracy and capacity building for local governments and NGOs. Further support is provided to the local NGOs by the European Commission.

"The UK also strongly supports the EU in requiring that Pakistan sign and ratify all major UN treaties related to human rights, prior to any further trade agreements between the EU and Pakistan."

According to the report, the UK also funds programmes to promote human rights in Pakistan. These projects aim to raise awareness, benefit vulnerable communities and engage political attention in order to effect longer term political reform.

The report appreciated that the Pakistani Government has created a National Day for Minorities on August 11 and initiated Inter-Faith committees on local level to resolve disputes before they spark into violence.

To support the federal and provincial Pakistani governments in addressing the misuse of the blasphemy laws, the UK Government is funding a project analysing their socio-political impact. This will increase the capacity of the law enforcement officials, government representatives and civil society to implement and monitor proper procedures in blasphemy cases.

On Kashmir, the report says the UK support conflict prevention efforts and its South Asia programme on the Conflict Pool funds for human rights, conflict prevention and peace building projects on both sides of the Line of Control.