ABU DHABI // An FNC committee has made minor changes to the new child protection law.
Wadeema's law, named after an eight-year-old girl tortured and killed by her father, is intended to protect children from abuse and neglect.
The FNC's Labour, Health and Social Affairs committee met officials from the Ministry of Justice, the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf, social services in Sharjah, the higher council for family affairs in Sharjah, and the Family Development Unit in Abu Dhabi to discuss the 72-article law.
Sultan Al Sammahi (Fujairah), deputy head of the committee, said the various bodies were all satisfied with the proposed legislation, but made small changes to the language and wording to ensure there was no room for misinterpretation.
"They agreed on the articles, it was just the language," he said. "The law is great and is in agreement with society's values and religious values, and needs of the country."
He said the Ministry of Justice had made some changes to the proposed penalties for breaches of the law.
The committee should finish considering the bill before the FNC's summer recess begins at the end of June, but it is unlikely to be debated in public by the full council before October.
