To All Living Things
Last Week's Column
"Afghan refugees, including children, are routinely detained by the Pakistani authorities for not possessing valid passports or visas. The police arrest them at random, demanding money for their release." |
Amnesty Action:
Arbitrary Detention of Afghan Refugee Children in
Pakistan
by Kathy Gay
his
week’s action from
Amnesty International is
another case from the organization's current Refugee Campaign, "Human Rights Have
No Borders," and concerns the treatment accorded refugee families from
Afghanistan, particularly those with children, who have fled to Pakistan.
For the past fifteen years, a devastating civil war in Afghanistan has left the country fragmented and its people traumatized. After seeing their homes destroyed and their loved ones brutalized, hundreds of thousands of Afghan men, women and children have made a long and arduous journey across inhospitable terrain to seek refuge in Pakistan. They have left their homes with only the few possessions they can carry, and frequently they do not have complete documentation establishing their identity.
Afghan refugees, including children,
are routinely detained by the Pakistani authorities for not
possessing valid passports or visas. The police arrest them at random, demanding money for
their release. Those who cannot pay the bribe are usually charged with illegal stay in
Pakistan and sent to judicial custody. To obtain release from judicial custody they must
present a valid visa and passport. This entails paying another bribe since they are
required to have their passport photograph authenticated by the police. The entire cost of
this process is well beyond the means of the majority of Afghan refugee families.
Refugee children are the main target of this form of harassment as the Pakistani police know that Afghan families will sell what they can to get their children out of jail.
Background Information
As part of its Refugee Campaign, Amnesty International is urging the government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to safeguard the rights of Afghan refugee children and ensure that none are detained in contravention of international standards.
The basic rights of refugee children
are governed by two international conventions: The 1951 U.N.
Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1989 U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, the 1994 UNHCR (United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees) Guidelines on Refugee Children provide practical guidance on
the treatment of refugee children. They state that detention must only be used as a last
resort and must always have a proper justification, and that the conditions of detention
must meet the needs of the children, including access to education and time for play.
Detention of refugees is allowed by international standards only on specific grounds, and
even then only when absolutely necessary. If applied, these standards guarantee that the
basic rights of children are met, ensuring that they live in freedom, dignity and
security.
The 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Pakistan ratified in 1990, states that the imprisonment of a child should be in conformity with the law and should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time. It guarantees the basic rights of all children, without discrimination, ensuring that they live in freedom, dignity and security. It also obliges states to take special care in dealing with the cases of refugee children.
The Pakistani government is clearly not fulfilling its obligations regarding Afghan refugee children.
How you can help
Please send a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan as soon as possible, but no later than December 28, 1997.
You may use the sample
letter linked below or use it as a model to write your own letter. If you choose to use
the sample letter, please cut off or delete all website information at the very top of the
letter. If you prefer to write your own letter, please keep in mind that its intent is to
improve the human rights situation in Pakistan. Make sure the letter is politely worded,
non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political expression) and written with
respect for the recipient. Be sure to include both your name and address, as well as the
date, on your letter.
U.S. airmail postage to Pakistan is 60 cents.
Questions?
If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) on the Activism Board, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.
To see the sample letter for this action, please click here.
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Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International since 1987, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.
Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.