Oman highlights efforts towards child rights

The sultanate's mission to the United Nations (UN) organised a seminar on its efforts towards ending abuse and all forms of violence against children.

The seminar was held in cooperation with the ministries of Education and Social Development under the title, 'Lessons Learned from the Sultanate's Efforts to Achieve Target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Ending Abuse and All Forms of Violence against Children'.

It was held on the sidelines of the sultanate's participation in the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York.

H H Dr Sayyida Muna bint Fahd al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) for International Cooperation and Chairperson of Children First Association, affirmed that the sultanate's children are the top priorities of the government.

She pointed out that the sultanate has achieved important steps by putting many elements of the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of the Child into force.

This commitment was highlighted at a large level by the enactment of the Child Rights Law in 2014 which provides a solid basis for the protection of all children in the sultanate.

H H Dr Sayyida Muna in her speech said that the sultanate has set up child protection committees in all governorates of the sultanate, established child protection helpline and shelter homes for children. She also assured that there will be more work to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

H E Dr Ali bin Talib al Hinai, Undersecretary for Planning Affairs in the Ministry of Health, Dr Mona bint Ahmed al Sa'adoun, member of the State Council, and Lana al Wreikat, representative of the Unicef office in the sultanate, participated in the seminar.

The seminar was held at the Permanent Mission of the sultanate to the UN in New York in the presence of H E Dr Ali bin Masoud bin Ali al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and officials and representatives from governments and international organisations.

Unicef official invited to the sultanate

H H Dr Sayyida Muna also met Najat Maalla M'jid, special representative of the UN secretary general on violence against children. The meeting touched on the role of the sultanate in issues of child protection.

Najat praised the pioneering role of the sultanate in enacting laws on the criminalisation of child abuses. H H Dr Sayyida Muna also invited Najat to be one of the keynote speakers at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect's (ISPCAN) international congress, which will be held for the first time in the sultanate in September.

On the sidelines of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, H H Dr Sayyida Muna also met Henrietta Fore, executive director, Unicef.

The two sides discussed the most important work of the Children First Association and on how the efforts can be improved further.

Safe learning environment for children

H H Dr Sayyida Muna also attended an event organised by the Ending Violence Council in New York. The event, which was held under the patronage of Henrietta, discussed several issues, raising awareness on issues related to combating abuse, exploitation and violence against children and celebrating the progress made by international organisations in this regard. Speaking at the event, H H Dr Sayyida Muna said that protecting children from all forms of violence is their fundamental right and stressed the need to support the campaign in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). She also announced sultanate's decision to open way for all programmers and developers to find technical solutions to reduce violence in schools, noting that three projects and innovations will be adopted for implementation and the possibility of exporting these technical solutions to developing countries.

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