BOGOTA: The State of Qatar affirmed support to all regional and international efforts to enhance the protection of children, noting its strong partnerships with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, regional and international organizations as well as its support for all initiatives to ensure the most comprehensive protection for this group worldwide.
This came in the speech delivered by Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Affairs at the Ministry of Social Development and Family Fahad Mohammed Al Khayarin at the first ministerial conference on ending all forms of violence against children that was recently held in Bogota, Colombia, with the participation of many figures, ministers, officials of UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations from different countries around the world.
Al Khayarin noted Qatar's firm commitment to protecting children from violence in all its forms, especially since it is one of the first countries to fulfill all its obligations related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which include ensuring and protecting children's rights.
Protecting children from all forms of violence is primarily a precautionary measure based on developing and implementing strategic preventive measures aimed at creating safe environments for children to live in their small families, communities and homelands free from conflict, violence and humanitarian crises and considering the direct and indirect effects of the challenges facing the family in today's world, poor families, conflict and war zones and places of refuge, he added.
He touched on government policies in the field of child protection, stressing the success of the State of Qatar through coordination between governmental and non-governmental sectors to protect children, which contributed to creating a safe environment for children by adopting a comprehensive protection system for this category, including coordination between the fields of education, health, social affairs, police and justice.
He added that the Ministry of Social Development and Family provides child protection services through its departments and institutions at the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, which supervises a number of programs and initiatives to protect children and provide them with a safe environment, such as the Shafallah Center that offers care and protection for children with disabilities, and the Protection and Social Rehabilitation Centre (AMAN) that works to protect children from violence and neglect.
In the context of his speech, Al Khayarin referred to the role of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the National Human Rights Committee in protecting children and ensuring their rights in line with international developments and standards.
