VIDEO: UAE celebrates Emirati Children’s Day

The United Arab Emirates celebrates the annual "Emirati Children’s Day," a national occasion celebrated on 15th March that aims to raise the community’s awareness about children’s rights.

The UAE has progressed from the stage of caring for children and protecting their basic rights to the stage of empowering future generations and shaping their future.

Coinciding with the occasion and under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), the Emirati Children’s Parliament will hold the opening session of its first legislative chapter tomorrow. It will be hosted remotely by the Federal National Council.

The parliament’s establishment reflects the country’s keenness to support children and the youth, as well as improve their political awareness, to ensure their active participation in the development process.

Since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UAE has adopted a series of procedures aimed at protecting children from the risks posed by the spread of the virus while enabling them to enjoy all their basic rights, most notably in education and health. Under this framework, the country launched awareness campaigns for children and their families, to raise their awareness about the disease and appropriate preventive measures.

The UAE also implemented a remote learning system to help children enjoy their basic right to education in a safe environment, as well as home and drive-through healthcare programmes and telemedicine programmes.

The UAE is continuing its achievements in the area of child protection and is protecting their overall rights. In recent years, the country has issued a comprehensive system of legislations and regulations aimed at protecting children and raising their awareness about their rights.

The UAE issued the "National Strategy for Motherhood and Childhood 2017-2021" as a key reference for decision-makers in the national childhood sector. It also adopted the "Children’s Protection Law" (Wadeema), which was issued by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al Nahyan, under the official name, Federal Law No.3 for 2016.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) established the Higher Committee for Child Protection in 2009 and the Child Protection Centre in 2011 to report cases of assault on children. Furthermore, the UAE chaired the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) to protect children from online exploitation.

The selection of the UAE as the first Arab country to join the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children is a new recognition of the country’s successful national policies to protect children.

The UAE also adopted a behavioural code for students in the school community comprising several instructions that should be considered in the correction of negative behaviour.

The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, in cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Ministry of Education and the Department of Education and Knowledge-Abu Dhabi, launched guidelines for parents to protect children against bullying.

WAM