Outreach Tour in Pakistan
In February 2009 Denise Carter, reunite’s Director, accompanied Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to participate in a series of meetings with Judges, lawyers, police and other professionals and non-governmental organisations, to discuss matters relating to international parental child abduction and to identify different initiatives that can be mirrored across the two countries.
During the visit Denise was able to meet Bar Associations in Islamabad, Mirpur, Rawalpindi and Lahore. There were discussions about the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Children Matters and the development of an awareness and training programme for professionals working in this specialist field. A copy of the speech given by M Yasin Khan, Advocate, at the Mirpur Bar Association can be downloaded here. Denise also had an opportunity to discuss the reunite specialist mediation service. One of the potential initiatives going forward will be to see how we can work in partnership with other specialist NGOs within these regions to develop a partnership in the use of mediation in cases of international parental child abduction and contact cases.
Denise also had an opportunity to meet again with SACH (Struggle For Change), a non-governmental organisation based in Islamabad. SACH has been working since 1994 for the rehabilitation of victims of human right abuses. They have developed a trust-based relationship at the grass roots level through their advocacy and out-reach activities for raising awareness of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture. SACH provides policy suggestions to the Pakistani government to undertake legislative reforms for the protection of human rights in general and the protection of women and children in particular.
This working visit was extremely valuable for reunite and will assist us in building networks with professionals and non-governmental organisations. It also provided Denise with an opportunity to share knowledge and experience and discuss challenges and barriers faced when dealing with cases of child abduction.
Now that Denise is back in the UK, she will be working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to consider and identify initiatives that we may be able to take forward.
Photographs from the Tour:
Denise with members of the Rawalpindi Bar Association
During the visit Denise was able to meet Bar Associations in Islamabad, Mirpur, Rawalpindi and Lahore. There were discussions about the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Children Matters and the development of an awareness and training programme for professionals working in this specialist field. A copy of the speech given by M Yasin Khan, Advocate, at the Mirpur Bar Association can be downloaded here. Denise also had an opportunity to discuss the reunite specialist mediation service. One of the potential initiatives going forward will be to see how we can work in partnership with other specialist NGOs within these regions to develop a partnership in the use of mediation in cases of international parental child abduction and contact cases.
Denise also had an opportunity to meet again with SACH (Struggle For Change), a non-governmental organisation based in Islamabad. SACH has been working since 1994 for the rehabilitation of victims of human right abuses. They have developed a trust-based relationship at the grass roots level through their advocacy and out-reach activities for raising awareness of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture. SACH provides policy suggestions to the Pakistani government to undertake legislative reforms for the protection of human rights in general and the protection of women and children in particular.
This working visit was extremely valuable for reunite and will assist us in building networks with professionals and non-governmental organisations. It also provided Denise with an opportunity to share knowledge and experience and discuss challenges and barriers faced when dealing with cases of child abduction.
Now that Denise is back in the UK, she will be working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to consider and identify initiatives that we may be able to take forward.
Please keep a regular watch on this page for further updates and also please view our Research page where we have placed our recently published Summary Report following our research into the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Children Matters.
Photographs from the Tour:
The High Court, Lahore
Denise with members of the Rawalpindi Bar Association
Denise with Justice Reaz Akhtar Chaudhry, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Azad Kashmir
Mr Idrees Mughal, Registrar, Supreme Court of Azad Kashmir
The SACH Team