UAE gets 2 seats on child protection board

The UAE Ministry of Interior (MoI) is awarded a permanent seat on the #WePROTECT International Advisory Board (IAB), in recognition of its security and police work in the field of child protection. With this accolade, the UAE will have two seats on the Board - as chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) for the next three years and a permanent member of the #WePROTECT International Advisory Board (IAB), similar to the UK home office, announced Ernie Allen, chair of the #WePROTECT IAB at the closing ceremony of the second global summit on ‘Ending online child sexual exploitation’ in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Participating countries and prestigious international institutions, such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook praised the success of the UAE in hosting this valuable international gathering to enhance protection of children. Allen also expressed his admiration for the opening speech delivered by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, by which he said that the summit was convened in order to protect the most treasured possession, an unparalleled fortune; and to build a bulwark that protects children from falling prey to immoral predators. Allen said: “We will endeavour to use the Abu Dhabi summit as a starting point for work projects to be tackled in upcoming summits, and to further expand the representation of the Advisory Board internationally, to acquaint world countries with the true meaning of commitment and to make the #WePROTECT summit the appropriate action plan as we move forward into the future.” Eight thousand cases of child victims were saved from the risk of online exploitation on a global level, pledging additional efforts to save more children and identify as many offenders as possible, Allen said and praised the efforts of the UAE in supporting international work in the fight to end online child sexual exploitation. ‘Statement of action’ against online child abuse Major Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi, Manager, Executive Office, VGT Chair, said: “We consider it a great success that we have had agreement on how we will deliver on the actions we have discussed and agreed at this summit. We are convinced that the statements of action for governments, industry, and capacity building are real turning points in how we tackle online child sexual exploitation, nationally and internationally.” She noted that the Abu Dhabi Summit succeeded in having 40 countries sign up to the ‘statement of action’, 17 commitments from industry, along with 16 organizations having agreed to work on capacity building. We hope that more can join us in the future. She said that the ‘statement of action’ for governments, included agreement to the national response model, to online child sexual exploitation, through providing guidance and support to countries on the capabilities, that a country needs to have in place, to combat this crime, in partnership with law enforcement, NGOs and technology companies. The ‘statement of action’ for industry commits companies to increase the volume of hashes used to protect and remove images of child sexual abuse, develop new tools and techniques and share their expertise. Major Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi mentioned that amongst the signatories this year was the Chinese internet giant Tencent. ‘Statement of action for those involved in capacity building brings together the civil society and international organizations, and by committing to undertake coordinated action, organizations have promised to amplify their existing skills, expertise and influence to ensure that our collective resources are used to the best possible effect. She asserted that the ‘statements of action’, made in London and here in Abu Dhabi, are fully in support of the establishment of the WePROTECT Advisory Board, by March 2016, noting that the UAE will remain committed to be an active member of the Board. She said that this Advisory Board will help the UAE to follow up on its commitments, deliver results nationally and internationally, maintain this momentum and drive forward the WePROTECT initiative between each of its future summits. Initiative and tribute from Microsoft Microsoft Corporation presented its vision on how the private sector can support the #WePROTECT initiative. Jacqueline Beauchere - Chief Online Safety Officer, Microsoft, announced the launch of guide, as a part of the international initiative of online child protection, to promote international response and reinforce efforts to prevent online child abuse. She added that the initiative focuses on raising public awareness and spreading education and awareness across schools, as well as participating in law enforcement procedures. She pointed that external affairs department at Microsoft welcomes communication to contribute to the success of the national initiative on a global level. She also stated that Microsoft stands ready to cooperate with institutions, to remove illegal images and videos of child abus