The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its findings on Pakistan, and called on the nation to take the necessary measures to investigate and prosecute reports of enforced disappearances, reported The Balochistan Post.
Pakistan has been urged by the UN to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to set aside enough funds to create and carry out policies aimed at stopping forced disappearances, especially those that affect marginalised ethnic groups like the Baloch.
The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released its report on Pakistan at a meeting on Friday in Geneva.
The committee called on Islamabad to investigate and prosecute reports of enforced disappearances involving politicians, public officials, human rights campaigners, and leaders of ethnic and ethnoreligious groups, reported The Balochistan Post.
The committee stressed that individuals found guilty must answer for their actions and receive punishments appropriate to their crimes. The UN panel further suggested that the government of Pakistan offer the victims and their families proper remedies, which should include rehabilitation, restitution, guarantees of non-repetition, cessation, and compensation.
Additionally, it also called for the reform or repeal of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, particularly those that impose severe penalties such as life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The committee stressed that these laws must be specific, not broad or vague, and must align with international human rights standards.
The committee addressed economic disparities, urging Pakistan to reduce poverty and unemployment among marginalised ethnic groups, including the Baloch. It recommended facilitating equal access to employment opportunities, providing training and support for small business development, adopting institutional measures to increase reinvestment into local communities–including those in Balochistan–from revenues generated by natural resource exploitation, and requiring thorough consultations with affected communities to obtain their free, prior, and informed consent before granting licences for resource exploitation.
The UN committee also demanded that housing and living circumstances be improved in places where ethnic minority groups are concentrated, with a focus on infrastructure and access to essential social welfare services like power, clean water, and sanitary facilities.
The committee finally urged Pakistan to rigorously investigate all complaints of harassment, intimidation, and excessive use of force by security and law enforcement officials, particularly at checkpoints.