ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mizari on Wednesday met the Facebook team and discussed the closer cooperation and deeper partnership between the Ministry to address Human Rights issues, particularly those related to Child Protection.

The Minister appraised the team that the Ministry was going to initiate Child Awareness Programmes in Islamabad. They were told that the Minister and her team, including child psychiatrist, would visit schools and will distribute the material to sensitise the children, teachers and parents on different issues regarding Child Protection.

Facebook members mentioned that online safety components are  very important and their team is super focused to deal with Human Rights issues. Tools are available to curb online child exploitation as well.

They also suggested that a policy conversation must be made by taking all stakeholders on board, to prevent online child abuse as Facebook has developed some tools to facilitate child protection. Facebook also has a “fact check” mechanism to curb fake material.

They also referred to the Digital Literacy Library that has a bunch of resources to improve online security against child exploitation and women harassment. It was told that there is Parents Portal available for parents to have a check on their children’s activities.

While responding to a question, the Minister said that the Ministry’s helpline is working well alongwith the Prime Minister’s Citizens Portal.

Both sides agreed to increase cooperation to address Human Rights issues and to improve online security mechanisms.