Discrimination against minorities is one of the foremost human rights issues: Riaz Pirzada

ISLAMABAD, May 23 (SABAH): Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada says discrimination against minorities is one of the foremost human rights issues and his Ministry is committed to address such issues.

He was addressing the launching ceremony of report “Unequal Citizens: Ending Systemic Discrimination against Minorities” by National Commission for Human Rights, with the support of European Union, in Islamabad on Monday.

He said that the Ministry has issued letter to the Chief Secretaries of each province, directing them to ensure the protection of minority rights in line with international obligations and constitutional guarantees.

Addressing the event Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Ather Minallah said his three ideal judges from Pakistan’s judiciary are from minority. He said that conferences and court judgments are not enough unless a proactive role is played by the government, civil society and media.

Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri stressed for sensitization of relevant government departments on unconscious biases that lead to discrimination against minorities. She condemned all the discriminatory and said that the condemnation shall come loud and clear from all segments of the society.

The report is aimed at highlighting the discrimination against minorities especially with reference to Government job advertisements and the treatment of sanitary workers.

The Commission recommended ensuring the protection of sanitary workers ranging from replacing manual unclogging of gutters with machine unclogging to ensuring fair wages, social security and healthcare for workers. It also suggested ending discrimination against minorities in the employment quota, immediate ban on practice of publishing discriminatory advertisements and ensuring public transparency in the number of minority posts filled across each basic pay scale.   

Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha briefed the participants on findings of the report and said that as a result of NCHR’s efforts, federal and provincial Governments have committed in writing to not only look into the issue of discriminatory practices but to affirm and vigorously uphold the Constitutional safeguards for minority citizens.