The OHRC executed an awareness program to protect children from negligence and abuse in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Social Development, and the Omani Women’s Association in Wilayat of Dhank and Dhank Elementary School.
The program included three axes to raise awareness of different groups of society on the issues of neglecting and abusing the group of children. In addition, awareness films were displayed to show some of the issues monitored by the OHRC during the last period. Furthermore, hundreds of printed awareness pamphlets were distributed illustrating children’s rights, and the legal articles related to children’s rights. They also give information about different authorities concerned with protecting and promoting children’s rights in the Sultanate of Oman, as well as means of communication with these authorities. In addition, Stories issued for children were distributed to raise the children’s awareness.
In the first axis of the awareness program, Ahmed bin Nasser Al-Rashedi, Director of the Monitoring and Complaints Receiving Department at the OHRC gave a lecture on the National Mechanisms for Protecting and Promoting Human Rights. In this lecture, he explained the definitions and concepts related to human rights and the mechanisms of promoting and protecting human rights. He also defined national human rights institutions in addition to the competencies of the OHRC, the mechanisms followed to monitor and receive communications as well as means of communications with the OHRC and means of raising awareness and education on human rights.
In the second axis, Khozina bint Muslim Al-Rohiba, Director of the Office of the Commission’s Affairs and Sub-Committees of the OHRC talked about the programs of awareness and education conducted by the Commission to eliminate the cases of neglecting and abusing children. She reviewed a number of the articles of the Child Law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She also gave the audience information about the means, procedures and precautions that should be taken to eliminate the accidents of negligence and abuse. In addition, she displayed several videos for awareness.
Emad bin Mohamed Al Saidy, Head of Family Protection Mechanisms Department at the Ministry of Social Development talked in the third axis about the mechanisms followed by the Ministry of Social Development to protect the child from negligence and abuse, the indicators which show that a child is abused. He also talked about cases that the committees of protecting children deal with and the mechanisms of communication and reporting about cases of abuse and negligence.
