Al-Riyadh newspaper | Children’s Day… enhancing awareness and providing initiatives

One of the events of World Children’s Day in recent years

The Kingdom participates with countries around the world to celebrate International Children’s Day, which falls on November 20 of each year. With the aim of educating society about the importance of developing children’s skills and behaviours, preparing them to build a more interactive and sustainable personality with future developments, and paying attention to the economic, health and living conditions of children around the world.

World Children’s Day is a global occasion celebrated every year to strengthen international interdependence, raise awareness among the world’s children, and improve their well-being. It allows everyone to defend and promote children’s rights and translate them into discussions and actions to build a better world for them.

The Kingdom is making great and distinguished efforts to celebrate International Children’s Day, emphasizing its commitment to protecting children’s rights and promoting their well-being. These efforts include various governmental and private sectors and community organizations, and revolve around enhancing awareness of children’s rights and providing initiatives that achieve a safe environment and comprehensive development for them.

Acquire knowledge

The Human Rights Commission in the Kingdom defined the rights of the child, as it stated that the Kingdom, since its founding, has been based on providing social care to all its citizens on an equal basis, especially the child. The Basic Law of Governance stipulates the promotion and protection of this right, as stated in Article 10 of it: “It shall be keen to: The state “strengthens family ties, preserves its Arab and Islamic values, cares for all its members, and provides appropriate conditions for the development of their talents and abilities.” The system guarantees all individuals comprehensive care and protection, and takes special care of children’s rights, as it recognizes the necessity of providing free health care, which includes the necessity of empowering children. From obtaining compulsory vaccinations for free and their right to health, as well as providing free education for all educational and university levels, and employing academic curricula to achieve social and cultural development that is compatible with the child’s development and encourages him to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Moreover, the Kingdom disburses rewards to those who enroll in university education.

Rights group

Regarding the concept of children’s rights, the Human Rights Commission in the Kingdom stated that it is a set of human rights that were specifically developed for all those under the age of eighteen, taking into account their nature and weaknesses. In general, children enjoy rights of their own – in addition to basic human rights -, taking into account the child’s needs. There are many types of children’s rights in the Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the right to life, the right to obtain a name and nationality (the right of identity), the right to education, the right to food, the right to health, the right to freedom, and the right to protection. The latter includes protecting him from physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, and even neglect.

Systems and measures

The Kingdom’s Human Rights Commission mentioned the most prominent child protection systems, as the Kingdom has taken care of the systems and measures that protect children’s rights, the most prominent of which are: The child protection system, the juvenile system, the protection from abuse system, the system for combating the crime of harassment, the system for combating crimes of trafficking in persons, the system for combating information crimes, in addition to many measures, regulations, institutions and programs that aim to protect and promote children’s rights, and the child protection system, concerned with protecting Every person under the age of eighteen, who faces abuse – in all its forms – and neglect to which the child may be exposed in the environment surrounding him, as the system emphasizes the rights of the child as established by Islamic law and established by international systems and agreements to which the Kingdom has become a party, and the objectives of the system are to emphasize What has been decided by Islamic law, and the international regulations and agreements to which the Kingdom is a party, which preserve the rights of the child and protect him from all forms of abuse and neglect.

Abuse and prohibitions

It is prohibited to harm a child in any form of abuse, exploit him, or threaten to do so. Physical abuse means exposing the child to physical harm or harm. Psychological abuse means exposing the child to mistreatment that may cause him psychological or health damage. Sexual abuse means exposing the child to any type of assault. Or harm or sexual exploitation. As for neglect, it is failure to provide the child’s basic needs or negligence in doing so. These include physical, health, emotional, psychological, pedagogical, educational, intellectual, social, cultural, and security needs. With regard to the prohibitions related to child protection, it is the prohibition of employing him or her. Before he reaches the age of fifteen, prohibiting assigning him to work that may harm his safety or physical or mental health, prohibiting his use in military operations or armed conflicts, prohibiting his sexual exploitation, exposing him to forms of sexual exploitation, or trafficking in crime or begging, in addition to prohibiting his use in Places of production or circulation of narcotic substances or psychotropic substances or their circulation in any form, and prohibiting the sale of tobacco and its derivatives to children and other materials that harm their safety. It is also prohibited to use them in purchasing, producing, selling or advertising them, in addition to prohibiting the import and sale of children’s toys or candy. Manufactured in the form of cigarettes or any smoking device.

Awareness campaigns

One of the most prominent efforts of the Kingdom on this day is the launch of awareness campaigns, as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development organize awareness campaigns to introduce society to children’s rights, including education, health, protection from violence, and proper nutrition, and the focus is on spreading the culture of children’s rights through social media. Media and social communication, and organizing events and activities by holding events in schools and social centers, including workshops, artistic performances, and competitions aimed at teaching children their rights in a simple and fun way, as well as providing cultural and entertainment programs that enhance the participation of children and their families, and implementing regulations and laws. The Kingdom is also keen to Implementing a child protection system that enhances their protection from abuse and neglect, and supporting efforts that focus on combating child exploitation and strengthening mechanisms for reporting violations.

Specialized services

The Kingdom provides care for children in all categories, paying attention to children with disabilities and providing them with specialized services to ensure their integration into society, while providing care for orphaned children and needy groups.

In addition to cooperation with international organizations and coordination with UNICEF and international institutions to promote children’s rights in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom has established a number of programs and services concerned with this matter, such as the National Family Safety Program, the Protection from Abuse System, and the National Project to Reduce Bullying and Peer Violence. And other programs and systems that contribute to addressing the issue, as it specified the necessary measures for protection and mechanisms for dealing with victims, and enacted legislation and laws that would preserve rights and punish the guilty. The Kingdom has achieved great success in eliminating serious childhood diseases such as polio, and the rate of childhood vaccination has increased. It reaches more than 95%, which contributes to reducing mortality rates among children. The Kingdom has established programs to support orphaned children and people with disabilities to ensure a decent life for them.

Regarding labor and child exploitation, the Kingdom applies strict laws that prohibit the work of children under the legal age and punishes their exploitation in any form. Vision 2030 works to eliminate poverty by supporting families in need and ensuring the provision of economic support and education for children.

Capacity development

The Ministry of Education, in turn, provided distinguished educational services for children in the foundation stages. To enhance opportunities for developing capabilities and skills at all educational levels, and to expand early childhood support so that the percentage of those enrolled in kindergarten schools reaches 90% in 2030, in addition to implementing programs and initiatives that contribute to improving learning environments, and strengthening education departments and offices in the regions and governorates of the Kingdom; Her contributions to World Children’s Day; By organizing many special events and activities to celebrate this occasion in schools; Which is based on highlighting the talents and skills of male and female students, within the framework of what various concerned parties seek to enhance international interdependence and awareness among children all over the world.

It is noteworthy that the initiatives taken by World Children’s Day: Concentrated in educational activities; By organizing workshops and seminars that raise awareness about children’s rights and the importance of quality education, access to health care, nutrition and safe environments, and contributing to organizations that work to improve the lives of children through education, educational and social programmes.