CONCLUSION AND RECOM MENDATIONS The foregoing demonstrates that despite its insistence at international fora that no executions of juveniles have taken place in the country, the Government of Pakistan continues to violate its international commitments on account of its failure to recognize structural problems inherent under the current juvenile justice legal framework. Unless fundamental problems including birth registration, age determination procedures and lack of overriding effect of juvenile law are not addressed the current juvenile justice system will keep falling short of international standards particularly through consistently failing in identifying and extending protections to juvenile offenders and therefore executing them. These fundamental failing and international human rights obligations necessitate that the Government of Pakistan do the following: A R E I N S TAT E T H E M O R ATO R I U M O N T H E D E AT H P E N A LT Y A N D L AU N C H I N V E S T I G AT I O N S I N TO C A S E S W H E R E JUVENILITY IS ALLEGED The Government of Pakistan should reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty and cease issuance of any more death warrants. Once the moratorium is in place, prisoners on death row should be given the opportunity to file complaints to the National Commission on Human Rights and provincial human rights bodies including the Sindh Commission on Human Rights, alleging juvenility at the time of the commission of their alleged offences. The National Commission on Human Rights and provincial bodies should thereafter undertake a prima facie examination of the evidence provided. Cases where it is deemed that sufficient evidence has been provided in favour of juvenility should be forwarded to the Sessions Court for age determination proceedings under S. 7 of the JJSO. Sessions Court should ensure that the proceedings conform to age determination protocols (described below) and the National Commission on Human Rights should be joined as party to such proceedings. If as an outcome of such proceedings it is determined that the prisoner was a juvenile offender, then he/she should be granted automatic remission without the need to file another mercy petition. B F O R M U L AT E A N D E N F O RC E AG E D E T E R M I N AT I O N PROTOCOLS Age determination protocols should be formulated and instituted at the level of arrest, trial, appeal and post- conviction review to dictate the procedure for recording of age at each stage of the proceedings. These protocols should be notified by the Ministry of Human Rights in cooperation with the national and provincial police and judicial academies and incorporated into High Court and Supreme Court Rules. These protocols should: a Ensure that upon arrest police officers do not record a suspect’s age unless the age recorded is based on identity documents and is confirmed by the accused. If no such documents are available, if the age in the documents is disputed by the suspect, or if there is any reason to doubt the age of the accused police must record this in writing and request a full age determination assessment can be conducted by a competent juvenile judge. 35 DEATH ROW’S CHILDREN