‘Arab children lack access to justice’
Tunisia, UAE are rare ‘shining examples’ in region, says human rights activist
Arab countries are falling behind the rest of the world in making sure that children have access to justice through their legal system, a rights activist said in Dubai yesterday.
Instability, poor legislation, and weak legal frameworks have led to a “deteriorating” situation for children’s rights, lawyers from across the Arab region heard, he said.
Speaking to a packed conference hall, Nasser Atallah, the regional director of the Child Rights International Network (CRIN), criticised legal proceedings against minors which he said were commonplace.
“In some countries, children are not judged and capital punishment is carried out whether the law is for or against [the death penalty],” he added.
“Sometimes, certificates are falsified, and children are held [confined] in the wrong way.”
Out of 197 countries surveyed, many of the Arab League’s 22 member states sit at the end of the list. All six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council were in the bottom 30.
Meanwhile, Palestine and Somalia were in the five lowest ranked states, ahead of only Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.
“In some countries, children are tortured to get statements from them,” said Attallah. “Palestinian children are tortured by Palestinians, we’re even forgetting about the occupation.”
However, there were some rays of hope in the region, he said. “I do also know that there are some shining examples coming from Arab countries,” Attallah added.
He cited the UAE, with its raft of child protection laws in recent years, and Tunisia are “a good model” for neighbours to follow.
“However, if we want to compare the Arab states compared to the rest of the world, we are still lagging behind.”
“We need to improve such a situation, we are also in need of more work in order to develop a culture of the rights of the child.”
As well as juvenile justice experts from Oman, Kuwait and Yemen weighing in, one speaker discussed measures taken by the UAE’s judicial system.
“Legislation in the United Arab Emirates has been keen to take account to the special cases of children,” said Alia Al Kaabi, the head of family and child prosecution at Abu Dhabi judiciary,
“Special procedures [regarding children] are enshrined in the law. A specialised public prosecution has been set up in the family and juvenile prosecution in Abu Dhabi and also in the [rest of the] UAE.”
Criminal investigations involving children also saw specialised public prosecutions, she added.