Tomorrow, the UAE celebrates the Emirati child's day, which falls on March 15 of each year, in affirming its commitment to nurture future generations and preparing it to follow the path of sustainable development witnessed by the country in all areas of life. The occasion this year coincides with the announcement of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood to establish the first parliament for the Emirati child, according to an agreement signed last February with the Federal National Council, in line with the political empowerment program launched by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State.

The UAE Children's Day this year carries the slogan "the right to participate", as the National Strategy for Motherhood and Childhood 2017-2021, in its fourth strategic goal, called for "promoting the real participation of children and adolescents in all fields", which includes many initiatives, as stipulated in the Child Rights Law (Wadimah), in Article 30, provided that the state forms councils, associations, clubs, and centers for children specialized in the cultural, artistic, scientific, and physical development of children, as well as other aspects of development.

The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood took several steps to translate the goal of the strategy related to the right of children to participate, the most recent of which was the formation of the Consultative Council for Children in the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, which aims to promote children's participation rights.

The members of the Advisory Council for Children represent the various emirates of the state, and they have a responsibility to express an opinion, whenever they are required to do so in projects related to motherhood and childhood in the areas of: education, health and culture, participation in official delegations of the council, as well as contributing to educating children about the activities of the Supreme Council for Children's Rights And the rights of Emirati children.

Law and reverence

Protecting the child against all dangers is a high priority in the Emirates, which has succeeded, over the past years, in building an integrated system of federal, local and private bodies that undertake awareness-raising operations on children's rights, stimulating the implementation of care programs and plans, and accountability in cases of abuse or default.

The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood is at the forefront of the official authorities concerned with launching awareness programs on children's rights, while the ministries and federal bodies are implementing the policies and procedures for internal and public incentives to raise the level of care provided to children, while the Ministry of Interior, and a number of authorized legal authorities, are responsible for monitoring abuses and immediate accountability by referring to The system of laws and legislation for child protection.

The UAE has approved a number of legislations and initiatives, which have strengthened the protection of the rights of the child and his care, as the Wadima Law, issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, guaranteed within the Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 all the rights of the child, such as: the right to life, survival and rights Basic, health, educational and intellectual protection, as he stressed the role of the competent authorities and the authorities concerned with preserving these rights, and protecting the child from all manifestations of neglect, exploitation and abuse, and from any physical or psychological violence.

Real boom

For its part, the Ministry of Interior established the Supreme Committee for Child Protection in 2009, and the Child Protection Center in 2011, and inaugurated the "Hotline" to facilitate reporting on cases of child abuse, and the UAE assumed the presidency of the global virtual force concerned with protecting children from the risks of exploitation via the Internet.

The reports issued by the relevant international institutions confirm the real progress achieved by the UAE in the field of protecting children's rights and protecting them from risks, so that its experience in this field becomes a global example.

The choice of the UAE to be the first Arab country to join the global partnership to "end violence against children" came as a new recognition for the success of its national policies aimed at providing the utmost protection and care for children.

In the educational and educational field, the UAE initiated a list of behavioral discipline for learners in the school community, which stipulated a number of caveats that must be observed in the process of evaluating the negative behavior of the learner, namely: Preventing corporal punishment in all its forms and forms, or denying eating meals, or assigning By performing additional school duties as a punishment, provoking or ridiculeing the learner, expelling the school during the school day with an individual decision, or restricting the learner’s freedom or confinement to school.

Aware of the dangers of bullying and the severe damage it causes to the mental health of children, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for the Arab Gulf States, the Ministry of Education, and the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, launched the Parent's Guide to Protection from Bullying, which It allows parents to learn about bullying and its forms, whether their child is bullied, or if he is bullied on another child, and ways to reduce this phenomenon.

Human and moral responsibility

The UAE has not abandoned its humanitarian and moral responsibility towards children who suffer from deteriorating conditions in different regions of the world, and has launched several humanitarian initiatives to help them overcome the difficult conditions they are going through, including the Dubai Cares campaign, to provide education for one million children suffering from poverty and armed conflict in Asia And Africa.

Historically, the UAE has ratified many international conventions on the rights of the child, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1995, which it acceded to in 2009, because of its belief in fundamental human rights, and it has also ratified Arab Labor Convention No. 18 of 1996 on child labor, in belief in the right of the child In protection.

The occasion coincides with the announcement of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood to establish the first parliament for the Emirati child.