Pakistan, China remain human rights violators, FCO raises concern

The International Forum has raised concerns of human rights violations being actively carried on in Pakistan and China. According to the list of Human Rights Priority Countries published in 'The 2019 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report' titled 'Human Rights and Democracy' by the British Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), serious human rights violations still persist in Pakistan in 2019 which includes restrictions on civic space and freedom of expression, intolerance, and direct and open discrimination towards minorities. 

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Religious persecution 

The report was stated by news agency ANI to have raised its voice on the presence of bonded and child labour and frequent religious discrimination within the country. As per reports, the Global Slavery Index of 2018 mentioned that more than three million people were living in modern slavery in Pakistan. 

The FCO reportedly said that Christians and other minorities suffer extreme levels of discrimination and intolerance which includes attacks on religious places like churches, temples. Reporters Without Borders 2019 World Press Freedom Index revealed that Pakistan fell to 142nd of 180 countries.

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The report read, "The media came under increased pressure and censorship, including threats and intimidation towards journalists, and state interference. Opposition leaders and other critics of the authorities faced increasing difficulties in expressing their opinions, including through social media. Reports of enforced disappearances of human rights defenders, journalists, and others continued."

According to the report, the discrimination and violence against women and girls remained prevalent with female literacy rate to around 46.5 per cent. 

On the other hand, the forum has also raised concerns about human rights violations in China. The report read, "The human rights situation in China has continued to deteriorate significantly and consistently since 2018. China continued to place restrictions on the expression of religious belief, ethnic minorities, the media and wider freedom of expression, as well as detaining and harassing human rights defenders, and restricting the space for civil society to operate."

It added, "The authorities' use of arbitrary detention continued, as did a lack of judicial transparency and due process, particularly in cases deemed 'politically sensitive'. In Xinjiang, credible estimates indicate that over 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been extrajudicially detained in internment camps across the region".

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