The government has decided to devise an effective monitoring and reporting mechanism on the matters related to human, labour, children, minority rights, climate change, narcotics control and anti-corruption to keep benefiting from the European Union (EU)’s GSP Plus scheme.
This was decided at the Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC) meeting to improve compliance of 27 UN Conventions signed by Pakistan. TIC Convener and Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali chaired the meeting attended by officials from federal ministries and provincial departments, International Labour Organization, and eminent human rights advocates I A Rehman and Peter Jacobs.
Ashtar Ausaf said the prime minister has restructured the TIC.
“The new TIC arrangement will help us coordinate with concerned departments and agencies more efficiently and will provide a platform to partner with international partners working in the areas of human and labour rights to bring more clarity and reality check for Pakistan’s efforts.”
He said the European Union has lauded Pakistan’s efforts for establishing the TIC and has decided to replicate the same in other GSP+ beneficiary countries.
“We have demonstrated progress and have to keep doing more,” he said.
While making a presentation, Pakistan Embassy Brussels Economic Minister Omer Hameed was of the view that the EU has recently shared a list of issues for which federal and provincial governments, international agencies and civil society organisations need to work together to devise a monitoring and reporting mechanism.
Appreciating the government’s seriousness to establish institutions like the TIC, I A Rehman said that while the provincial governments have enacted legislation on rights related matters, implementation and institutions building remains a challenging task.
