Social, economic and cultural rights

HRCP recognizes and supports the social and economic rights of all citizens in Pakistan. These rights include the right to quality education, accessible health, provision of housing, clean environment as well as cultural rights.

In education, HRCP supports sufficient public spending allocated in the government’s budget to improve Pakistan’s literacy rates. As such, we recognize the importance of student learning and teaching quality in addition to healthy quantitative indicators such as school enrolment and retention and provision of school infrastructure. HRCP stands against harmful practices such as corporal punishment and discrimination in education.

In health, HRCP records Pakistan’s various policies and initiatives towards improvement of public health afflictions such as typhoid, polio, HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, dengue and malaria. We also note the relationship between poverty and malnutrition that hinder citizens’ rights to good health, and supports access to mental health services for all.

In housing and other public amenities, HRCP supports citizens’ rights for accessible housing, and thus stands against evictions of communities from informal housing arrangements such as katchi abadis. We also stand against illegal practices such as land grabbing and misappropriation.

HRCP supports every citizen’s right to a clean environment. This has become all the more important with the onset of climate change that is further aggravated by practices such as deforestation, water pollution, land pollution and air pollution. The need to invest in renewable energy sources becomes especially important with every passing day.

Finally, HRCP supports every citizen’s cultural rights, which include the preservation of their linguistic and literary heritage. With such a diverse population, Pakistan is a melting pot of different cultures, each which deserve the right to expression and conservation.