International Human Rights Day observed

Civil Society members and leaders of NGOs have urged government to review foreign policy towards USA, keeping in view the national interest of Pakistan. They are addressing the participants of the jointly staged rally titled "Human Rights for All" to mark the International Human Rights Day.
The rally arranged by Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM), Peace and Human Development (PHD Foundation), Lyallpur Development Organisation (LDO), Participatory Organisation for Women's Empowerment and Rights (POWER) and Liaison for Enforcement of Human Rights (LEHR).
They demanded that the rights of women, minorities, children, workers and persons with disabilities should be protected; Lives and properties of the citizens and religious sites of all communities, including shrines must be protected. Speaking on the occasion, Khalida Mansoor, Shazia George, Nazia Sardar, Tahir Iqbal and Sajid Iqbal Safdar discouraged all state and non-state elements responsible for massive human rights violations in Pakistan.
They urged for the promotion and protection of human rights. They also demanded that the educational curriculum must be free from all forms of biases in order to make it a source of peace promotion, whereas material promoting human rights, peace, harmony and religious, sectarian and ethnic tolerance must be included in the syllabus.
The women should be protected against harassment and discrimination at work places, and safe women friendly atmosphere should be created at work places; The women workers engaged in informal sectors including home-based workers, peasant workers and domestic workers should be recognised as part of the labour force, whereas ILO conventions protecting rights of home-based workers and domestic workers must be ratified; Sincere efforts must be put to control unemployment, inflation and loadshedding of gas and electricity, they added.
Speakers also demanded that the government should speed up the work to establish an independent, impartial National Human Rights Institution according to the Paris Principles to promote and protect human rights and to monitor situation of the marginalised groups and to redress the complaints in this regards.
Most of the speakers showed their grave concerns over the situation of human rights in Pakistan, and urged the government to take tangible steps for the promotion and protection of human rights. At this juncture, the participants strongly condemned the recent Nato attack on the soil of Pakistan, killing brave soldiers of Pakistan, and shouted slogans in support of human rights and in opposition to human rights violations. They also criticised violence, discrimination, class division, feudalism, capitalism, sexual harassment, injustice, exploitation, extremism, intolerance, terrorism, inflation and corruption present in the Pakistani society.
Participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of peace, human rights, justice, tolerance, harmony, equality, freedom, protection, development and prosperity. This rally started from Press Club and dispersed peacefully at Clock Tower Faisalabad. This peaceful rally was led by Khalida Mansoor (Parliamentarian), and was joined by over 150 Muslim and Christian participants from different schools of thought including representatives of civil society groups namely; AWAM, PHD, LDO, NCJP, POWER, CARE, Harmony Foundation, LQM and WPP.