FORUM ON MINORITY ISSUES ‘Minoritie s in the Criminal Justice Syste m’ Provisional Age nda Ite m III: Minoritie s and the e xe rcise of police powe rs (Nove mbe r 24, 2015) Afte rnoon Se ssion 15:00-18:00 Oral State me nt Pre se nte d by: Cecil Shane Chaudhry, Executive Director, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Pakistan Introductory comme nts Thank you Mr. Chairperson. My name is Cecil Chaudhry and I am a Christian Human Rights Activist from Pakistan, Heading the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and I would like to speak on the topic of Minorities and the exercise of Police Powers. Police in Pakistan often fail to provide protection to members of religious minorities. The Police hostility and bias towards the religious minorities creates an environment in which most non-Muslims fear to seek justice or even file complaints fearing negative repercussions from the Police force. Cause s and Practice s The mass arrests of Christian Minorities that followed in Youhanabad, Lahore, due to the tragic lynching of two suspected Muslim members, in the aftermath of the attack on the two Churches this year in March, was a glaring example of the exercise of powers by the police force; the re still re mains a wave of e xtre me fe ar in the are a. Was the rule of law not comple te ly violate d? Religious Minorities whe n arre ste d face numerous challenges at the hands of Police Forces 1- Excessive delays by Police in registering the First Information Report, up to 3 months after the arrests 2- Use of 3rd degree torture against the arrested minorities 3- Use of abusive language and religious bias during their interrogation by the Police 4- Female family members visiting prisoners more than often face harassment by the jail staff. 5- Juvenile victims are harasse d/abuse d by the authorities both (physically and me ntally) These points are a clear example of the violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan which states that all the citizens are equal before the law and ensures equal protection for all citizens. It also is a violation of Article 27 of the Inte rnational Cove nant on Civil and Political Rights and the Unive rsal De claration on Human Rights. Re comme ndations Mr. Chairperson, Citing Draft Recommendation 28 of The Forum on Minority Issues, we present the following recommendations:  That the State of Pakistan should introduce new policies and regulations to police and law enforcement authorities to ensure fair treatment towards minorities