Dubai: The UAE’s child protection law can now be understood with the help of illustrated electronic drawings.
Dubai Courts, which launched the illustrative project, aims to educate children about their rights and protect them from all forms of abuse. The illustrations have been developed by Dubai Courts’ Youth Council in cooperation with legal experts and specialists in children’s literature.
Alia Al Muhairi, deputy director of Dubai Courts’ Youth Council, said the first phase of the project covers the educational and health rights of children as per the Child Protection law.
“It is an interactive law platform that opens a direct channel between children and specialists to explain their problems and receive advise on how to deal with the problems,” Al Muhairi said at the Dubai Personal Status Court.
The remaining child rights stated in the law will be turned into an illustration in the second phase which will be launched by November 2020.
Moreover, the council cooperating with the Ministry of Education to add the project to schools curriculum.
“We have a plan to add the project to the schools’ curriculum and we are also cooperating with public and private bodies dealing with children for this purpose, They include the Community Development Authority and Human Rights Department of Dubai Police,” she added.
The illustrated versions, in both Arabic and English languages, will be available on the websites of Dubai Courts and the Ministry of Justice.
“It is a creative idea that speaks directly to the child. The drawing and dialogue in the illustrated version explain the law in an easy to understand manner for children under the age of 18,” Al Muhairi said.
Tarish Eid Al Mansouri, Director General of Dubai Courts, inaugurated the new project to mark the International Children’s Day last week.
“Dubai Courts has become the first court to launch the interactive electronic law. Our rulers look after our children and provide them with utmost legal protection,” Al Mansouri said.
Wadeema Law
Federal Law No 3 of 2016, named Wadeema Law, was drafted in the memory of Wadeema, an eight-year-old Emirati girl who was starved and tortured to death in Dubai by her father and his girlfriend in 2012.
The law ensures that every child in the UAE, whether a resident or tourist, has the right to live and be safe, get educated and be protected from neglect and all forms of abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or psychological.
