Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior assured that the issues of children receive great attention from the Ministry of Interior which supports local and international efforts to ensure their protection from any attempts to abuse them. He pointed out the constant keenness of H.H. Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and UAE Minister of Interior; to make the U.A.E a civilized hub and a role model in the region to promote the protection and security of children through the various procedures, aimed at promoting the security and safety of our societies.

Major General Al Nuaimi had inaugurated the 5th National Child Protection workshop organized by the Higher Committee for child protection of the Ministry of Interior, which began yesterday at the Park Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi, with the participation of the various Police General Headquarters in the UAE.

Major Al Nuaimi indicated in his speech, that the UAE has made great strides in the areas of child protection, pointing out to the procedures followed by the Higher Committee for child protection at the Ministry of Interior since its inception, through cooperation and partnerships with the various institutions in the State.

He also highlighted the constant efforts to review legislation and laws to develop and ensure their conformity with the highest international standards, given that protecting children and their families is vital to the development of our societies.

The Secretary-General stated that the issue of child protection requires an increased cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations; stressing the need for regulations and detailed procedures to ensure that any child, who was victim of abuse, will receive appropriate services, and that the police would take into consideration the children’s needs according to their families’ circumstances.

Moreover, Al Nuaimi explained that the Ministry of Interior established the Child Protection Center, according to H.H Deputy Prime Minister’s decision number (347) of 2011, in order to prepare policies and develop strategic plans for child protection; supervision and follow-up of investigations into offences against children; monitoring the implementation and development of laws and regulations related to offences against children, in collaboration with the competent and specialized authorities; and following up their implementation through a number of dimensions, which amount to fourteen.

For his part, Lt. Colonel Faisal Mohammad Al Shumari, Director of the Child Protection Centre at the Ministry of Interior, stated that the workshop aims to identify the risks that children may face, not directly related to health, and work on addressing them at the State level.

 
The workshop included a number of sessions. In the first session, on day 1, First Lieutenant Mohammad Abdullah Sumar presented the "Guide of Investigation in Child Abuse Cases"; Lt. Mohammad Al Zaheri and Lt. Taleb Al Hamadi, showcased “the roles and responsibilities of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)”. Captain Saif Al Nuaimi from the Department of Social Support Centers of Abu Dhabi Police gave a presentation on “the roles and responsibilities of the Social Support Centers Department” while Captain Abdul Rahman Ahmed Al-Tamimi, Head of the Crime Scene village of Abu Dhabi Police's crime scene department, reviewed the "roles and responsibilities of crime scene investigators”.

During the sessions, Lt. Al Shamari reviewed the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Interior in the area of Child Protection and explained the national and international perspectives on child protection. He also pointed out the roles and responsibilities of the Child Protection Centre "in preparing policies and developing strategic plans for child protection; supervision and follow-up of investigations into offences against children; monitoring the implementation and development of laws and regulations related to offences against children, in collaboration with the competent and specialized authorities; and following up their implementation.

Al-Shamari noted that these roles include coordination with the existing and internationally approved “Child Helpline International” and other related lines of communication to receive reports on crimes against children, take the necessary decisions, coordinating with the public prosecutor, the courts, the competent police departments and the relevant authorities in relation to children's issues.

The second session of the 5th National Child Protection workshop included studying a variety of cases, in which children were exposed to different physical, sexual or psychological assaults, in 8 groups representing police general headquarters. The groups studied several cases.

The draft of the federal application “Guide of investigation in child abuse cases" was also discussed and the workshop’s first day concluded by summarizing the results and headlines.