SDGs Taskforce Committee on Child Rights

Terms of Reference

The following are Terms of Reference of the SDGs Taskforce Committee on Child Rights, notified by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 30th May, 2019.

i. To ensure evidence-based legislative reforms and effective parliamentary oversight of child rights across Pakistan.

ii. To take stock of the overall status of implementation of child rights related laws enacted by the Parliament through presentations by relevant organisations and individual experts of various fields.

iii. To review the progress of Pakistan with respect to the implementation of rights provided in the UN Convention on Rights of the Child ratified by Pakistan and make recommendations for improvement.

iv. To identify gaps and make recommendations for necessary legislation, where needed, and/ or advice administrative measures to facilitate the complete implementation of child rights enshrined in CRC.

v. To serve a platform for coordination of efforts by various stakeholders for achievement of targets of SDGs related to welfare and development of children.

vi. To inform and sensitize parliamentarians and policy makers about child rights, Convention on Child Rights, SDGs related to the welfare and development of children and responsibilities of duty bearers.

vii. To develop a draft work plan for possible activities to be organized by the parliament, its committees and Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs, to commemorate 30th Anniversary of CRC, and present to the speaker for approval.

viii. To advocate increased financial allocations in the budget for child rights.

Name About Member

Ms. Mehnaz Akbar Aziz (Chairperson)

Mrs. Mehnaz Akber Aziz, one of the eight women elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in the election 2018 is also a development professional. As an elected parliamentarian she is leading the cause of children’s rights in the Parliament and is focused to legislate for protection of child rights. She is member of Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs, Federal Education and Professional Training & CPEC. Ms. Aziz also chairs a Special Committee on Child Rights Convention at the SDGs Parliamentary Task Force, which raises awareness on the commitment of Pakistan to CRC.Ms. Aziz, with an M.Sc. in Anthropology from Quaid-e-Azam University and Masters in Gender & Development Studies from Sussex University UK and an impressive career path in her chosen field, she comes with a vast experience in the social sector with a focus on the policy making and capacity building in educational programs. Ms. Mehnaz has founded a National educational institution by the name of Children’s Global Network Pakistan for advocating ‘equitable education’ in the country. She established Parwaan in 2015 dedicated to ECCE under the auspices of Ministry for Federal Education and Professional Training. Ms. Aziz has also pioneered an innovative "ECCE Social Entrepreneurship Model" that caters to the learning and developmental needs of disadvantaged children of age group 3-5 years and also provides unemployed educated youth an opportunity to generate income by opening up ECCE centers in the community Ms. Aziz provides technical support to institutions of higher education in preparing skilled teachers workforce through designing and development of Post-Graduate Diploma course on Early Childhood care & Education Through her work she is supporting the government in universalizing Primary education in Pakistan by bringing in more than 200,000 Out Of School Children for enrollment by involving 20,000 youth volunteers and retaining them in seventy districts of Pakistan.

Dr. Nafisa Shah (member)

Dr. Nafisa Shah holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Oxford and a Master's degree in Anthropology. She was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan on a reserved seat for women from Sindh in the Pakistani general election, 2008. She served as chair of the National Commission for Human Development and General Secretary of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus between 2008 and 2013. She was re-elected to the National Assembly on a seat reserved for women from Sindh in the Pakistani general election, 2013 for the second time and she was re-elected to the National from Constituency NA-208 (Khairpur-I) in Pakistani general election, 2018.

Dr. Nausheen Hamid (member)

Holds a medicine degree and has twice served as Member of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. During this tenure, she was Chairperson of the Parliamentary Health Caucus in the Provincial Assembly. Dr. Nausheen has effectively advocated for health rights across the Province and was the architect of multiple legislative instruments. She is currently working as the Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.

Ms. Shandana Gulzar Khan(member)

She is LLM graduate from the University of Cambridge. She is currently the Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce. Ms. Shandana has previously worked as a legal professional on Corporate Governance, Economics of Law & Regulation. She has worked with multilateral organizations on aspects of trade & commerce, agriculture and e-commerce. As Member of the SDGs Taskforce, Ms. Shandana is a strong advocate of gender equality and women economic empowerment.

Mr. Imran khattak (member)

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-26 (Nowshera-II) in 2018 Pakistani general election

Ms. Aliya Kamran (member)

She was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) on reserved seats for women from Balochistan in 2013 Pakistani general election. She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on a reserved seat for women from Balochistan in 2018 Pakistani general election

Mr. Nawabzada Shah Zain Bugtti (member)

Mr. Nawabzada Shah Zain Bugtti was elected to the National Assembly in 2018 from Dhera Bugti, Baluchistan.

Ms. Kishwer Zehra- (member)

Has been elected as a Member of the National Assembly multiple times from Karachi, Sindh. She is a strong advocate of gender mainstreaming in Pakistan. She has a number of legislative interventions to her credit, regarding provision of rights of differently-abled persons.

Ms. Rubina Irfan-(member)

Is the only woman Parliamentarians who has been elected in the provincial Assembly of Balochistan, National Assembly as well as the Senate of Pakistan (2012-2018) during multiple tenures. She is a women rights activist and heads the Women Wing of her party.

Ms. Nafeesa Inayatullah Khattak -(member)

As her second term in the Parliament, Ms. Khattak has championed a number of human rights and SDGs interventions. She is an active Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education.

Ms. Javaria Zafar Aheer (member)

Holds a master degree in Finance and an M.Phil. degree in Education. Currently, she is the Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Mr. Junaid Akbar (member)

Holds a Masters of Business Administration degree and has previously served as a member of the National Assembly as well (2013-2018). Is the Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reform.

Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam (member)

Holds a Medicine degree and has been elected to the National Assembly multiple times.

Mr. Ali Zahid (member)

Has been elected to the National Assembly (2018) from Sialkot, Punjab.

Mr. Mustafa Mehmood(member)

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PPP from Constituency NA-178 (Rahim Yar Khan-IV) in 2018 Pakistani general election.

Mr. Amir Haider Azam Khan (member)

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of ANP from Constituency NA-21 (Mardan-II) in 2018 Pakistani general election.