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As many as 340 to 375 unwanted newborn babies are left in the cradles every year while many are killed or abandoned by their mother or relatives to avoid the stigma said SPARC (Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child) at the National Conference on Violence against Children which took place in Islamabad, Pakistan last week. Speaking at the one-day conference, Executive Director of SPARC, Mr Qindeel Shujaat said violence against children cannot be justified. Children are held in bonded labour, paying debts accrued by their ancestors. He said that although the government is primarily responsible for taking measures to protect children from violence, society should also take responsibility. Mr Ronald Van Dijk of UNICEF stressed the importance of eliminating corporal punishment to discourage drop out rate and added that Pakistan is far from reaching the Millennium Development Goals of achieving low maternal and infant mortality. He said child marriages was one reason why girls are out of school. Chairman of SPARC and former information minister, Mr Javed Jabbar, stressed that the elected representatives at the district level should be advocating for a Child Protection Bill which would help safeguard the rights of children. In 2005 433 camel jockeys were deported from the United Arab Emirates and now that figure has exceeded 550 disclosed Mr Tariq Khosos of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). He said that convictions were important to stop the trafficking of women and children and that there has been an 92 per cent increase in conviction rates in 2005. The government has taken a number of measures at various levels to monitor the movement of children and traffickers and said that child focused legislation is important. Former Chief Executive of SPARC and Board Member Mr Anees Jillani expressed concern about the trafficking of young girls from Pakistan to Arab countries for prostitution. He also stressed that to mobilise support for human rights issues, NGOs need to improve their credibility and they should stand on their own two feet instead of waiting for foreigners to deal with the issues. The community should depend on its own strength to improve the rights of children. Mr Markus Peter, Ambassador of Switzerland, said that children should be treated as children and every segment of the society is responsible for their welfare. Mr Janis Bjorn Kanavin, Ambassador of Norway, stressed the need to adapt the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child according to the needs of Pakistani society. He added that children brought up in fear can be very dangerous and it is essential to give children a voice. Ms Gulmina Bilal of Friedrich Neumann Stiftung felt that the media had failed to give space to children because Pakistani society is not socially aware and although work is being done, the different segments of work have not been connected up to protect children.