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Queen calls emergency meeting to discuss child abuse cases

 
Her Majesty Queen Rania attends an emergency meeting to discuss child abuse on Sunday (Photo by Nasser Ayoub)
Her Majesty Queen Rania attends an emergency meeting to discuss child abuse on Sunday (Photo by Nasser Ayoub)


AMMAN (JT) - Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday called for stricter measures to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse, asserting that “there are no excuses to justify the death of a child.”

During an emergency meeting following the tragic deaths of Yazan and Qusai, two recent victims of child abuse, Her Majesty voiced disappointment over the development, highlighting that years ago, Jordan was the leader in shedding light on child abuse in the region.

“Today we have failed where we were once pioneers,” she pointed out, calling for greater cooperation among stakeholders, which include ministries and NGOs involved in the Family and Child Protection Unit.

Although the unit, launched in 1996 to tackle child abuse and violence, gradually surmounted a deeply embedded tradition of shame and silence often associated with such cases, observers say it now lacks an effective mechanism for monitoring, reporting and evaluating independent cases.

“There is something wrong in the way we are handling child abuse cases. We haven’t failed because we lack a system. Rather, we failed to build an essential accountability framework, which severely undermined effectiveness on the ground,” the Queen noted.

“We are not here to blame or defend ourselves, but to prevent and respond to child abuse by reinforcing our commitment to find a permanent solution,” she added, underscoring the importance of monitoring in creating a protective environment for children.

“Any further delay in confronting the matter with due diligence is the difference between the life and death of a child,” Queen Rania said.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Jordan River Foundation Director General Valentina Qseisieh said, “nobody is abiding by the existing framework.”

Further stressing the weaknesses inherent in the system, Education Minister Tayseer Nueimi emphasised the importance of training staff to detect early signs of abuse as well as ensuring follow-up of independent cases reported.

During yesterday’s meeting, participants also underscored the need to open a national investigation into the deaths of Yazan and Qusai, review the legal and judicial system to include stricter laws and train specialised district attorneys and judges to deal with cases on a one-to-one basis.

In addition, the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) was appointed as the umbrella organisation designated to monitor all entities involved in the family and child protection system.

Judicial Council Chairman Ismail Omari, Social Development Minister Hala Latouf, Justice Minister Ayman Odeh, Health Minister Nayef Fayez, Her Majesty’s Adviser Fatmeh Homoud, NCFA Director General Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Public Security Department Director Major General Mazen Qadi, National Institute of Forensic Medicine Director Momen Hadidi, Child Protection Unit Director Col. Mohammad Zoubi, and Samia Bishara, head of the Child Protection Programme, also attended the meeting.


4 May 2009

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