Cabinet approves federal law on Child’s Rights

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stressed on Tuesday that all children have the right to live a safe life in a stable environment. He made his remarks while chairing the Cabinet meeting held this morning at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, during which a draft federal law on the protection of children was discussed. The meeting was also attended by  Lt. General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. “We will never relent with those who violate the fundamental rights of children,” he said. “The new law covers all areas relating to children’s rights and contains mechanisms that will ensure its application.” Shaikh Mohammed also instructed that the law should be known as ‘Wadima’s Law,’ after the eight-year old Emirati girl who was recently killed by her father, who then buried her body in the desert, a crime that shocked Emirati society. The new law, approved by the Cabinet, includes 72 articles which cover all children’s rights guaranteed by international conventions and in accordance with the rules of Islamic Sharia and the principles of the Emirati Constitution. The law includes the health, educational, cultural and social rights of the child in addition to providing guarantees to provide their protection, together with the relevant mechanisms for this. One chapter specifies penalties for breaches of the law. The Cabinet was also briefed during its session on Tuesday on the report on the work of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, which was formed in order to combat this crime in cooperation with the relevant authorities. It also approved the final accounts of the federation and of the Federal National Council, the UAE University, the Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University, the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority.