Pakistan

Children in Pakistan may lawfully be sentenced to death, life imprisonment and corporal punishment.

Below are just some of the advocacy initiatives from national NGOs, supported by CRIN, against these horrific rights violations.

Dear Prime Minister, Dear President

A network of NGOs in Pakistan, the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN), along with Defence for Children International and CRIN launched a campaign against inhuman and degrading sentences for children in Pakistan in May 2011. The campaign includes a joint letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan calling for an end to these human rights violations.

Download the campaign postcard to sign the letter

In addition, the NJJN has also appealed to the President of Pakistan to fully implement the country’s constitution to stop these serious violations of children’s rights. Read the press release.

Boys sentenced to death, solitary confinement and 492 years in jail

The NJJN has also written to the to the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations about the horrific violations of human rights in Pakistani juvenile justice, including details about the experiences of boys aged 14 who are sentenced to death, as well as others sentenced to 492 years in jail. You can read the letter here.

In the best interests of the child…

The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), an NGO in Pakistan, has developed a juvenile justice program to improve the legal protection of children in conflict with the law in Pakistan and to campaign to raise awareness of the human rights abuses children face in the Pakistani legal system. The SPARC website also provides statistics on the number of children sentenced and being tried for criminal offences across Pakistan.

Further advocacy resources 

Campaign: 
Inhuman sentencing