Queen Rania Attends Launch of Jordan’s Children Report

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department- Amman) – Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah attended today the launch of the Jordan’s Children Report at a ceremony held at the Children Museum, Jordan. The National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) in coordination with UNICEF and other governmental bodies have drafted the 4th and 5th Country Children’s report.

After the signing of the UN protocol for Children’s Rights in 1991, the Kingdom committed to a periodic report to be submitted every 5 years and the Kingdom is the first country in the region that will submit a stand-alone Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) report.

The NCFA and UNICEF took the lead on doing the study with the help and support of different governmental entities including the Ministries of Labor, Education, Justice and Health, the Public Security Directorate and the Arab Army.

At the ceremony, Her Majesty stressed the importance of such a report, and commended all parties involved for their hard work. Her Majesty highlighted that child protection, children’s rights and their development is national and humanitarian duty.

In a discussion with some of the participating children and youth in the report, Her Majesty applauded their efforts adding that this report stands out because of their involvement and the methodology by which it was drafted.

NCFA Secretary General, Ms. Reem Abu Hassan, spoke about the report’s findings and explained that children were directly involved in the report through working group, workshops and discussions in which children from across the Kingdom participated.

UNICEF Representative in Jordan Ms. Dominique Hyde said during the event “Jordan is the first country in the region that will submit a stand-alone Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) report to Geneva, where children are sharing their views and opinions on the level of implementation of the CRC in Jordan”. She also added "This shows the practical implementation of article 12 of CRC which stipulates that children have the right to express their views freely."

The report covered several key points including, the equality between the two sexes in laws and regulations and the effect of poverty on that as well as the right of living and surviving in a suitable environment that is protected by the government.

The report also focused on respecting children’s ideas and opinions in addition to allowing them to express themselves, and to support laws which protect their rights.

It also stressed the need to provide all the health services for children, emphasizing supporting children with disabilities, and the importance of education and cultural activities especially in remote areas.

The outcomes of the report will be shared with the different governmental entities and civil society organizations to be taken into consideration in their future planning.