LAHORE: Daniela Luciani, head of the child protection programme at UNICEF, called on Punjab Ombudsman retired Maj. Azam Suleman Khan at his office and discussed matters relating to the protection of children’s rights.
Tabana Sajjad Naseer, chief provincial commissioner for children, and Zahida Manzoor, child protection officer, were also present.
The participants of the meeting discussed in detail the elimination of online harassment and exploitation of children, the rehabilitation and protection of affected children and child labour to provide a conducive atmosphere to the little ones.
Luciani appreciated the role being played by the CPCC office under Tabana Sajjad Naseer to stop child exploitation and assured support of UNICEF.
Khan explained his office has been providing important pro bono services for the last 25 years to help resolve public issues relating to the provincial government institutions.
Meanwhile, the office of the Chief Provincial Commissioner for Children has been active since 2009 to protect children’s rights and the primary function of this platform is to examine and investigate complaints made by or on behalf of children.
It also works to proactively bring children’s voices into policy-making arenas, he said. A working group consisting of line departments, NGOs and parliamentary representatives has also been formed to deal with the online exploitation and harassment of children. This working group will draft policy guidelines to protect children from online harrying while providing necessary guidance to the government as a think tank, he added.
He further mentioned the Office of Punjab Ombudsman is active in all 36 districts of the province to protect public rights. Alongside, the departmental helpline 1050 is 24/7 operational to guide the people needing assistance for the redressal of their problems, he concluded.
Khan also presented the shield to Luciani.
