National Conference on Right to Food

Food prices inflation: empty plates on rise risking 30m more to tally of poor Provinces need to make laws to ensure food for those who cannot afford to buy

Food rights campaigners Wednesday warned all provincial governments against food price inflation risking increase in empty plates amid fears of adding 30 million more to the tally of those living below poverty line.

“Act now to protect hungry and the poor from food insecurity, food vulnerability, land grabbing, denial of women’s right to land as it has a deep structural nexus with food security. The provinces should legislate to protect right of the people to food and acknowledge women working in fields as farmers,” said the participants of the conference. They called upon the governments that these laws must ensure that food reaches to every one who cannot afford to buy it from the market and do not let the market forces increase the prices of food for corporate greed. State is to check market excesses.
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Daily Times Islamabad, October 20, 2011
Business Recorder Islamabad, October 20, 2011
Pakistan Today Islamabad, October 20, 2011
The News Islamabad/Rawalpindi, October 20, 2011

Disarm gun violence as 65% illegal arms perpetuate violence against women

Speakers call for strict check on proliferation of small arms

No more time to let gun violence continue as 65% illegal firearms are being used to perpetuate violence against women and 94% of perpetrators use such arms directly to threaten their wives, said a recent study conducted in four districts of South Punjab. The study conducted by AwazCDS on ‘Status of Domestic Gun Violence against Women in districts Multan, Muzafargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur’ was launched at a seminar on ‘Proliferation of Small Arms and their Impact on Internal Security Dynamics jointly organized by Awaz- Center for Development Studies, Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) and Journalists for Democracy and Human Rights (JDHR). The seminar was organized in connection with Global Week of Action against Gun Violence being observed in more than 70 countries till Sunday (19th June). The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) has given the call for observance of the week. read more

10% of GDP each year needed to achieve MDGs target by 2015: Speakers

Each district be given Rs 2b for development; local bodies be restored for better service delivery Rising poverty necessitates at least 10% of the GDP to be spent on education, health, safe drinking water and sanitation and basic infrastructure to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In South Asia, India leads with 9% of its GDP spending only on health and education while Pakistan spends around 3% on both. read more

Creating Media Awareness about Vulnerability of Flood Affected Children to Worst Forms of Child Labour (Lahore)

Pakistan has been facing severe disasters such as massive earthquake and now the recent floods that damaged one fifth of the country. Even three months after flooded, millions of survivors still have no roof over their heads. Aid organizations have called for urgent international help ahead of the winter as 7.2 million still living in precarious conditions. According to an estimate by the UNICEF, twenty million people have been affected, over 10 million children of which, 2.8 million are under five. Recently the United Nations refugee agency cautioned that since the floods struck Pakistan, millions of people are still in critical need of continued humanitarian assistance. The devastation of this flood has been termed as the worst floods in the century and its severity has been beyond imagination. read more

Creating Media Awareness about Vulnerability of Flood Affected Children to Worst Forms of Child Labour (Karachi)

Some earlier assessments said around 20 million people were affected by the recent flood in Pakistan. These are the worst kind of disasters in Pakistan’s recent history. However, the UN estimates say a total of 14 million people have been affected by the floods, massive than the 2004’s Tsunami and 2005 Pakistan earthquake, with millions of children and women struggling to survive in precarious conditions. Keeping this background in mind, International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with Journalists for Democracy and Human Rights (JDHR) Pakistan (www.jdhr.org), a countrywide network of journalists and a media think tank linked to other networks in South Asia and South East Asia, organized one day Media Sensitization Seminar at Hotel Avari, Karachi on 25th September 2010. read more

Media coalition against worst form of child labour

Journalists from print, electronic and online media have pledged to help root out the worst forms of child labour from Pakistan by exposing the menace through their respective media work. read more

Journalist urged to join hands to create awareness against worst forms of child labour

Journalists by joining hands against the worst forms of child labour can highlight the issue so that correct measures can be taken by the concerned authorities to check the menace. read more

Lost my childhood in an automobile workshop

Adnan is 14 years old boy. He has 9 family members including 6 siblings younger than him. Adnan’s father has a vegetable shop and his daily income is insufficient to meet the requirements of such a big family. He has no option left but to make his son work in a motor work shop. read more

WTO trade rules benefit rich countries

Compromising the spirit of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), big trade players during Hong Kong Ministerial tilted the trade rules to benefit rich countries and multilateral corporations. read more

WTO talks- operation successful, patient dead