Dubai, July 30: The UAE has decided to set up organized professional and academic educational and awareness programs to fight sexual exploitation and abuse of children, the official WAM news agency reported Thursday.
Educational and awareness programs targeting children will be infused into school curriculums. The syllabi will be made suitable for the nature of each school level the children are at.
“Specialized awareness programs will also be tailored to target guardians and educators alike,” said Gen. Nasser al-Nuaimi, the media and research arm of UAE’s Higher Committee for the Protection of Children.
The committee also mulls creating a child protection center that handles all child-related crimes and ways to rehabilitate and curb juvenile crimes.
In its quest to improve its human rights standards, the UAE government is currently studying the establishment of a national human rights commission.
Also, the Gulf country has made steps to alleviate abuse of children. In 2002, the UAE banned the use of children under 15 as jockeys in the popular local sport of camel-racing. Along with the ban, a set of penalties was introduced including a fine of AED 20,000 in first offence, a banning from camel races for period of time in second offence, imprisonment in third offence.
In 2004 an HBO documentary and Anti-Slavery International accused the UAE of illegally using child jockeys in camel racing, where they were allegedly subjected also to physical and sexual abuse.
Recently, Tunisia became the first Arab country to adopt a law against child abuse prohibiting parental child beating. The law stirred controversy among Tunisians with some fearing it would weaken the traditional parents’ disciplinary authority and increase juvenile delinquency.
In 2004 Dubai police opened designated departments in all emirate police stations that were mandated to protect human rights of both victims and perpetrators of crimes.
–Agencies