The Community Development Authority in Dubai (CDA) participated in a forum on “Child Abuse - between social and legal protection", recently held in Beirut. The forum, which was organized by Association du Foyer de l'Enfant Libanais in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs – Higher Council for Children, aimed at enhancing communication channels in the field of child protection and welfare.
Participants from CDA included Mr Ahmed Al Muhairi, Executive Director, Societies Centres; Dr Hussein Al Maseeh, Director of Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre and Mr Ghassan Khalil, Advisor for Social Policy and Strategic Planning.
Mr Khalil presented a paper on 'Legal dimensions in social policies', which tackled the correlation between legislative reforms and integrated social policies, and the need to bring about positive changes in society by setting up appropriate legal frameworks
Dr Maryam Matar, Director General, CDA said, “The forum provided a platform to network and share best practices with neighboring countries. The forum is a means to raise awareness of the Arab child’s needs, safety and protection among the community to protect children from abuse, as well as enhance the services and care provided for children in the society.”
“Child abuse is totally unacceptable and one of the most important social issues that needs to be addressed and resolved. We must enact legislation and laws that ensure the full protection of children, as well as the development of an integrated system which allows the community to report any case of child abuse. We must also implement social policies that contribute to this problem, which still exists in the Arab region,” added Dr Matar.
The visiting delegation from CDA met with representatives of various Lebanese authorities to identify best social practices in Lebanon and also attended a workshop at the Educational Center for Research and Development to discuss the mechanisms adopted by the Center to guarantee merging human rights in school curricula and enhancing national identity, and how to apply these in the UAE.
The delegation also met representative from Human Rights Association ad Women’s Rights Committee to discuss their experiences in the filed of awareness, advocacy and women’s rights.
“Child abuse - between social and legal protection” discussed many topics including social protection and legal protection policies, methodologies for social intervention - educational and psychological, as well as how to look after children of war.
Community Development Authority (CDA):
The CDA is a government entity mandated with enhancing the social development in Dubai to achieve the Dubai strategic plan 2015 which was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on February 2007.
The CDA will work towards promoting and raising the social standards in Dubai, and increasing the role of citizens in the community by cooperating with concerned entities in order to achieve the goals of the development sector and to develop the basic structure necessary for this.
The CDA will work on setting up the necessary policies and standards pertaining to social services providers based on its five strategic goals including promotion of national identity, social protection, social inclusion, social empowerment, and social cohesion in Dubai.
