MLSD Minister heading the meeting of the National Committee for Childhood in its new formation
06-12-2020
His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, chaired the first meeting of the National Commission for Childhood in its new composition, pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No. (13) of 2020 on the commission’s restructuring. The commission comprises representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Supreme Council for Women, the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Information Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the University of Bahrain, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, the Children and Mothers Welfare Society, and the Bahrain Society for Child Development. Members reviewed progress in implementing the National Childhood Strategy Action Plan and the Kingdom’s achievements in child health, education, protection, care and talent development, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They also discussed measures to further improve the status of children, alongside plans to launch additional projects and initiatives in child services, care and protection aimed at ensuring a dignified and sustainable life. The commission examined efforts by relevant authorities to secure a sustainable and resilient recovery from the coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic. It also reviewed Bahrain’s submission of its report on the two Optional Protocols to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child — on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography — submitted under Law No. (19) of 2004 approving their accession. Humaidan congratulated commission members on the confidence placed in the new line‑up by HRH the Prime Minister, stressing that Bahrain’s gains for children stem from the wise leadership’s sustained support for the childhood sector. He commended the National Commission for Childhood’s achievements since its establishment in 2007, notably the preparation of the National Strategy for Childhood, formulated as an integrated framework. Bahrain, he recalled, received international acclaim for children’s rights during the 80th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva last year. The National Commission for Childhood oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Bahrain in 1992, and conducts research and studies to translate its provisions into action. It also serves as a liaison between executive bodies, providing technical assistance to support their work plans. The commission’s new composition retains representatives from numerous official and civil society organisations concerned with childhood.