Karachi: 24 October 2012: The civil society of Pakistan issued a joint response to the official national report submitted by the Government of Pakistan to the United Nations Human Rights Council this week. The report documents an account of the implementation of recommendations accepted by the country under the first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2008.
Over a dozen CSOs and networks in a joint statement released today as a rejoinder to the official report said that they are deeply disappointed to read the government’s version of the state of human rights in Pakistan. “It’s a glossy document that does not reflect the ground realities at all. Instead of presenting the true picture of the status of human rights in the country and sharing an action plan to face the challenges, the government has relied on the old bureaucracy rhetoric of ‘all’s well’ and ‘we remain committed’. This may never help to address the blatant violation of human rights taking place in everyday life in the country.â€
The civil society called on the members of the Human Rights Council to take serious note of the state’s failure to respect the global human rights mechanisms. “There is hardly any evidence that the recommendations of the last review were ever implemented. In the last four years, the condition of human rights has degenerated as the state has adopted an increasingly withdrawn posture with regards to its constitutional obligations towards the citizens, compromising right to life, security and livelihood; people’s access to basic necessities; and fundamental rights and freedoms.â€
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