Collaborate to protect kids from abuse: MoI

UAE Ministry of Interior calls for collaboration to protect children from abuse and neglect. Major-General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection at MoI stressed the importance of collaboration of all concerned authorities to promote child protection and prevent abuse and neglect.

MoI endeavours to achieve the vision of the UAE of becoming one of the best countries in the world in the field of safety and security in general, and child protection in particular, based on the vision of Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to establish the UAE as a beacon of culture and a center of excellence in child protection.

MoI’s Child Protection Center participated with a paper at the seventh Abu Dhabi International Conference on Special Needs (Access Abu Dhabi 2015), organised by Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club under the slogan ‘Promoting the Protection Rights for Persons with Disabilities’.

Maj-Gen. Al Nuaimi noted that projects and initiatives related to child protection carried out by the MoI’s Child Protection Center reflect the common goals that we all strive to achieve. He called for initiating active communication between families and schools, with the aim of achieving the goals of security in educational system and emphasized media’s role in achieving efficient collaboration, promoting family awareness among all segments of society, especially children.

He reiterated MoI's commitment to protecting children against all kinds of abuse and neglect, in order to provide safety and security to all children living and visiting in the UAE.

Major Dr. Mohammed Khalifa Al Ali, Director of MoI's Child Protection Centre, said: "Every year, about six in 10 children worldwide (almost 1 billion) between the ages of 2 and 14, are regularly subjected to physical (corporal) punishment by their caregivers. Moreover, slightly more than one in three students between the ages of 13 and 15 experience bullying on a regular basis worldwide."

Major Al Ali noted that disabled children are 3.4 times more likely to be victims of abuse and neglect than their non-disabled peers. "The MoI's Child Protection Center endeavours to prepare, implement and organise several initiatives and projects to enhance security, safety and protection of all children living in the UAE.

The center will prepare policies and develop strategic plans for child protection; supervise and follow-up of investigations into offences against children; and monitor the implementation and development of laws and regulations related to offences against children, in collaboration with the competent and specialised authorities."

"The Centre does not try to resolve issues directly, but refers them to the competent authorities, notably the Social Support Centers, CID or the police emergency call center 999. All of these entities endeavor to protect all children from any type of risk and abuse," he added.

MoI's Child Protection Centre launched an awareness campaign this month titled 'Together to Prevent Child Abuse'. The Centre also stressed the need to focus on domestic violence and the dangers faced by children as a result of such violence.

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