UAE issues resolution on Child Protection Law

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has issued Cabinet Resolution No. 52 of 2018 on regulations concerning Federal Law No. 03 of 2016 on Child Rights (Wadeema's Law). The Resolution was published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette.

The regulations included 23 clauses, including conditions for employing and training minors, workplace conditions, procedures to report child rights violations, conditions to become child welfare officers (child protection specialists), and conditions and obligations foster families must meet.

The regulations also stipulate that the Ministry of Community Development, in coordination with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, shall study, with due care, applications submitted to employ minors, with the condition that written consent from the parent or the legal guardian of the minor is provided. It details that minors less than 15 years of age cannot be granted employment and that minors that meet the minimum age requirements must also be deemed "fit to work" as per conditions determined by the two ministries.

UAE extends amnesty by December 31st

The UAE’s visa amnesty has been extended for one more month granting amnesty seekers more time to settle their visa status in the country, an official told.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Al Dallal, the spokesperson at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs of the Ministry of Interior, said the amnesty extension came under the directives of  His Highness UAE President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and would now end on December 31.

The extension is the second time the UAE amnesty period has been lengthened. Originally launched on August 1, the amnesty period was initially set for three months until the end of October; it was then extended until November 30 and then again until December 31.

"The authority will on Tuesday continue to welcome people wishing to avail of the amnesty initiative at the nine registration centres across the UAE so that they can rectify their status," the FAIC said in a statement.

The "Protect Yourself by Modifying Your Status" initiative that granted a three-month grace period for illegal residents to modify their status or leave the UAE without facing fines or legal issues started on August 1 until October 31, 2018.  But the authority extended the amnesty scheme for a month which was supposed to end on November 30, 2018, after the expiry of the extension.

Brigadier Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, Acting Director-General of Foreigners and Ports Affairs at the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, said the decision to extend the deadline for another month comes as a "generous initiative" to mark the country's 47th anniversary.

"The extension of the amnesty initiative is a generous gesture from the UAE leaders which is also characterized by their keenness for humanity and supporting people," said Al Rashidi.