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QNA
Doha
Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs HE Dr Issa bin Saad al Jafali al Nuaimi has reiterated Qatar's continuous keenness to develop and update laws and legislations related to child rights to comply with the related international standards.
Speaking at a forum on safe childhood organised by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) in cooperation with Qatar Social Work Foundation, the minister said, under the wise leadership of the Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Qatar does not spare any effort in giving importance to all child rights on a legislative and institutional level.
The minister said the Qatari constitution and other legislations included many provisions that consider family, maternal and child rights.
"Qatar ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and made it part of its internal law and also joined the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of child, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of child in Armed Conflict (OPAC)," he said.
Dr Nuaimi said the State has endeavoured to put into practice the basic principles and provisions of the convention and its protocols to protect and promote the rights of the child.
He reiterated the importance of enriching child culture, consolidating, promoting and protecting child rights and extracting their creative energy to create a new generation that is able to lead in the future, adding that this contributes to finding a generation able to positively interact with the society, adhere to the culture of the surrounding community which serves the family and particularly the child.
The minister said achieving all these goals requires combining efforts and joint work in all sectors of the society, especially the parents and family, in addition to educational institutions, preachers, media outlets, civil organisations and the overall environment of the society.
"The MADLSA is making all the required efforts to promote and protect the right of the child and development. It is also working on updating the programmes that guarantee all rights, which complies with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to make the State able to achieve sustainable development," Dr Nuaimi added.
He referred to the ministry's keenness to spread social awareness and raise the intellectual, factual and behavioural level in children throughout Qatari society.
The minister expressed hope that the activities of the forum will become full educational, social, health, cultural, skills, intellectual, creative and literary events among children in Qatar in various fields.
The forum underscored the importance of accelerating the enactment of the children's law and providing an updated legislative base for the protection of children and family, the establishment of a permanent national committee on children, the preparation of a comprehensive diagnostic study on children situation in Qatar, as well as the preparation of a national strategy for childhood and the promotion of the establishment of civil society organisations dealing with children and women issues.
The forum stressed the importance of working to secure, support and assist the family to improve its outputs and to cooperate with children international organisations to ensure that all services were provided in a professional manner and in accordance with international law.
The forum discussed the problems faced by children and their social, psychological, legal and media dimensions, and how to develop effective solutions to them.
The forum also highlighted the consequences of actions taken against children in political crises, for example the issue of the unjust siege on Qatar, pointing to the violation of international law and human rights conventions by the blockade countries, especially the rights of children and families separated because of these illegal unilateral measures.
Speakers emphasised that the State's laws, legislation and measures all contribute to the protection of maternity and help families to care for child, either through the paid leave or high indicators of care and services, especially in the areas of health, security, education and household income.
They reviewed the role of the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs through the Department of Family Affairs in supporting family cohesion and providing social, psychological and health factors through the provision of services and projects of children's creations and preparation programmes, supervising the role of care houses and providing social security pensions and an integrated legislative base for the protection of children and family.
Speakers talked also about pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 ensuring the preservation of the rights of current and future generations and improving the output of the Qatari family making it coherent and strong, as well as the role of civil society institutions in the implementation of national strategies, international conventions and partnerships and in launching campaigns and initiatives targeting all segments of society.
