Cabinet ratifies Optional Protocol to Convention on Rights of the Child

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet on Wednesday ratified and gave its approval for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the Child; the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. This was stated by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira while briefing the media persons about decisions of the Cabinet.Kaira said that the Optional Protocol would enable the Government of Pakistan to fulfill its national and international obligations regarding child rights. The United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has also urged the member states to ratify the protocol, he added.The Cabinet ratified and accorded its approval for UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he said adding that being member states of UN, it is obligatory for all member states to sign and ratify the Convention provided they have no reservations.The Government of Pakistan signed this Convention on September 25, 2008 after approval of the Cabinet, 147 member states have signed and 96 states have ratified this Convention.The minister said that the Cabinet also ratified and gave its approval for signing of agreement between Government of Republic of Indonesia and Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperative activities in the field of defence. The agreement was signed on July 21, 2010 by the defence minister during his visit to Indonesia.The cabinet accorded approval for initiation of negotiations to conclude an agreement between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Senegal for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, he said.Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the Cabinet gave the approval in principle to start negotiations with the Government of Korea on Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation for Environmental Protection.The main objective of this MoU is to develop and promote long-term cooperation in the field of environmental protection, sharing benefit from the rich Korean experience and to provide sound opportunities for the exchange of information, technology and experiences in this field, the minister added.He told the media that the Cabinet considered and accorded its approval in principle to start negotiations for agreement on Extradition Treaty between Pakistan and Ukraine. The Ambassador of Pakistan in Ukraine has intimated that there are a number of Pakistani Human Traffickers operating in Ukraine who have looted thousands of their own innocent compatriots in connivance with local authorities.The Cabinet gave its approval for initiation of negotiations to enter into an agreement for the avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income with Republic of Senegal, Kaira said.The basic purpose of an income tax treaty is to facilitate international trade and investment by removing tax obstacles – APP