Bangkok: Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, member of the Federal National Council (FNC) stressed that the UAE is firmly committed to the protection of women and children as per its Constitution which guarantees their rights enshrined and demonstrated in the country's laws and legislation.
Amal was addressing the 122nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), being held in Bangkok.
She noted that the UAE took significant steps towards institutionalising victim support that is in line with international standards and improving social services for victims of exploitation and violence by providing a refuge to overcome the psychological and physical effects of violence, oppression and neglect.
She cited Federal Law No. 82/2005 which provides a comprehensive framework for the protection, rehabilitation and welfare of families.
The UAE's legislations on the protection and welfare of children and women, demonstrate the country's firm belief that abuse and neglect represent a threat to the welfare and security of its society.
Mechanism
The UAE is now working on a new law on children's rights which would provide an unequivocally resolute enforcement mechanism that totally prohibits all forms of children abuse and exploitation, according to Amal.
The FNC member also noted that the UAE had set up specialised centres to provide women and children who fall prey to abuse, violence and human trafficking with full material, psychological and social support.
The UAE, she added, considers joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Convention's Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography supplements
The UAE, in 2002, ratified the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which prohibits, inter alia, forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts.
