UAE, UK sign MoU on Child Protection from Online Abuse

Lt. General H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Interior (MoI), and its UK counterpart on protecting children from online abuse and sexual exploitation, on Tuesday, at the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters.
In accordance to the deal, both parties agreed to coordinate and cooperate in assisting the UAE to host the second edition of the Global Summit on Ending Online Child Exploitation. The Summit is expected to be held in the UAE by the end of 2015.
The MoU was signed by Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the Office of H.H. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection, on behalf of the Ministry of Interior; and by Mark Sedwill, Permanent Secretary at the UK Home Office.
It enables both parties to develop their capacities and capabilities in order to promote the adoption of the best international practices in the areas of child protection against online abuse and exploitation. The MoU also calls to identify the victims in order to provide them with the necessary support and to bring the culprits to justice.
The Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection said, "the Global Summit on Ending Online Child Sexual Exploitation is an opportunity for governments, and law enforcement agencies and institutions operating in this field to meet with civil society institutions in order to agree on concrete plans of action, to build strong relationships and to create transnational cooperation networks." Major General Al Nuaimi stressed that the Summit will be a turning point in eliminating this crime on an international level and also in coordinating international efforts in order to clamp down on the spread of the sexual exploitation of children via the Internet worldwide.
Among others present were Major General Khalil Dawood Badran, Director General of Finance and Services at the Abu Dhabi Police; Major General Mohammed bin Al Awadhi Al Menhali, Director General of Human Resources; Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Director General of Central Operations; Brigadier Omair Al Muhairi, Deputy Director of Police Operations; Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, Director General of the Headquarters Affairs at Abu Dhabi Police; Brigadier Fares Al Farsi, Director General of Guards and Special Tasks; Brigadier Sheikh Mohammad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Director of Peripheral Regions Directorate at the Abu Dhabi Police; Brigadier General Dr. Saif Bu Dhufaira Al Ameri, Director General of Security and Ports Affairs; Brigadier Ismail Al Sirkal, Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Police Central Operations; and Colonel Abdul Rahman Al Hammadi, Head of the Forensic Evidence Department.
Meanwhile, the British delegation included: Philip Parham, British Ambassador to the UAE; Richard Riley, Private Secretary to the British Home Office; Ben Argibel, from UK Border Agency (UKBA) – Home Office; Steve Jones from the British National Crime Agency; and James Constable, Police Attaché.
The first edition of the Global Summit on Ending Online Child Sexual Exploitation was hosted in London during December of 2014. During the Summit, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the UAE, as represented by the MoI, for its noble initiative to host the second edition of the Summit this year.