Showcasing its Experience in “Access Abu Dhabi 2015”

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, April 25th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior, pointed to the importance of collaboration of all the concerned authorities to promote child protection and prevent abuse and neglect.

He explained that the Ministry of Interior endeavors 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 HH 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.

Major General Al Nuaimi also noted that the 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 stressed the importance of the collaboration and concerted efforts to achieve the vision of the higher leadership and contribute to achieve sustainable family security and stability in the country. “The safety and security of society are a top priority for the police institution,” he said.

Moreover, Major General Al Nuaimi called for initiating active communication between families and schools, with the aim of achieving the goals of security in the educational system. He also emphasized the valuable role of the media in achieving efficient collaboration, promoting family awareness among all segments of society; especially children, who are highly vulnerable to the dangers they may encounter; and reiterated the MoI’s commitment to protect children against all kinds of abuse and neglect, in order to provide safety and security to all children living and visiting in the UAE.

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

Major Dr. Mohammed Khalifa Al Ali, Director of the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Centre, pointed to the importance of identifying and responding to child abuse cases, as he presented some of the facts related to negligence and child abuse. He 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.”

Adding further, 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. “Estimates of risk indicate that children with disabilities were at a significantly greater risk of experiencing violence than peers without disabilities: 3.7 times more likely for combined measures of violence, 3.6 times more likely for physical violence and 2.9 times more likely for sexual violence,” he continued.

Major Al Ali also tackled the goals of the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Centre. He said: “The MoI’s Child Protection Center endeavors to prepare, implement and organize 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 specialized authorities.”

He also noted that the centre strives to protect children living across the UAE, and assumes a wide array of tasks and duties, such as educating community members through awareness courses and lectures. “The Centre does not try to resolve issues directly, but refers them to the competent authorities, notably the Social Support Centers, the Criminal Investigation Department (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.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Centre had launched an awareness campaign under the slogan “Together to Prevent Child Abuse”. The campaign falls within the annual initiative adopted by the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior, which designated April of every year as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Such efforts are in line with the initiative of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), in solidarity with the global policies of many countries that mark April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The Centre stressed the need to focus on the issue of domestic violence and the dangers faced by children as a result of such violence. The campaign include a wide array of events and activities throughout the month of April, for the sake all children, parents, families, as well as public and private institutions. This reflects the vision of the higher leadership to make the UAE a better and safer place for children and families.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14400/en