Looking back to the significant affirmation of commitment to child rights, in the United Arab Emirates continues to position the best interests of the child as the foundational principle underpinning all national decisions, policies, and programmes. This legal imperative, rooted in Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 Concerning the Rights of the Child (commonly known as Wadeema Law), has been operationalised through targeted emirate-level initiatives.
Two recent developments, namely the 2023 launch of the Dama Al-Aman Child Protection Policy by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority and the November 2025 statement by H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that illustrate a maturing legal and institutional framework that prioritises child safety, family cohesion, and multi-sectoral coordination.
Legal Foundation: The Best Interests Principle in UAE Legislation
Wadeema Law explicitly incorporates the “best interests of the child” as a guiding norm, aligning UAE domestic law with Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which the UAE is a state party. The principle requires that in all actions concerning children, whether legislative, administrative, judicial, or by private institutions, the child’s physical, emotional, and developmental wellbeing must be a primary consideration. This is not merely aspirational; it imposes enforceable obligations on authorities, professionals, and families.
The Dama Al-Aman Child Protection Policy, launched on 2 November 2023, translates this principle into concrete legal and operational measures. Endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and developed in collaboration with entities across social services, education, health, law enforcement, and the judiciary, the policy establishes:
Three core guiding principles
(1) the best interests of the child.
(2) equality and non-discrimination; and
(3) respect for the child’s right to privacy and confidentiality of information.
- Mandatory implementation: All entities working with children must adopt the policy, creating a unified child protection ecosystem.
- Evidence based intervention mechanisms: Early detection systems, unified reporting channels with guaranteed confidentiality, coordinated case management, and rapid response protocols.
- Holistic family support: Recognition that the family is the optimal environment for child-rearing, coupled with targeted assistance to parents and caregivers to maintain stability.
These elements reflect a rights-based approach that balances protection with family preservation, while imposing clear legal duties on professionals (including educators, healthcare workers, social workers, prosecutors, and judges) to report and respond to risks.
Recent High-Level Reinforcement: Sheikh Theyab’s 2025 Statement
On 19 November 2025, coinciding with World Children’s Day and Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Week (themed “Listen to the Future”) Stand with children’s rights”), H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) reaffirmed that the child’s best interests remain at the core of all national decisions, policies, and programmes. The statement was issued against the backdrop of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s designation of 2026 as the “Year of Family,” elevating child protection from a sectoral policy to a national strategic imperative that links family cohesion, institutional coordination, and long-term societal wellbeing.
Sheikh Theyab emphasised the need to unify national initiatives by strengthening coordination between federal and local family and childhood agencies. He spotlighted the ongoing evolution of the Dama Al-Aman Child Protection Policy (launched on 2 November 2023 and endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council) into a mature, cross-sectoral operational framework. Originally built on three foundational principles:
(1) the best interests of the child,
(2) equality and non-discrimination, and
(3) respect for the child’s right to privacy and confidentiality
the policy now functions as a comprehensive child protection ecosystem. It mandates implementation by all entities working with children across government, private sector, non-profit, and community levels, ensuring shared responsibility among social services, education, health, law enforcement, and the judiciary.
Key legal and institutional advancements highlighted include
- Expansion of the Dama Al-Aman system: Now positioned as a fully integrated, cross-sectoral framework linking families with education, health, social, judicial, and law enforcement authorities. Enhancements focus on strengthened monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance; expanded preventive programmes; and the adoption of evidence-based, innovative interventions tailored to children’s and families’ evolving needs considering rapid social and technological changes. The system explicitly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and promotes global best practices in child protection.
- Unified reporting and early intervention mechanisms: An electronic reporting platform enables direct, confidential communication with specialists for swift intervention on potential risks. Reporting channels are designed to be trusted, safe, and reliable, guaranteeing confidentiality for anyone reporting suspicions or incidents.
- Case management and coordinated response: A robust case-management model ensures effective coordination across sectors, delivering comprehensive, high-quality care services with a strong emphasis on early detection of issues.
- Capacity-building obligations: Training of hundreds of specialists including educators, doctors, nurses, social workers, prosecutors, and judicial actors through more than ten accredited programmes developed in partnership with the National Academy for Childhood Development. These programmes enhance the legal system’s ability to apply the “best interests” test consistently in court proceedings, care orders, protection cases, and administrative decisions.
- Infrastructure developments under the Abu Dhabi Child Protection Strategy (2020–2024): Establishment and expansion of the Child Center, the first integrated facility providing comprehensive child protection services under one roof, in partnership with the Family Care Authority. This facilitates family access to holistic support and significantly improves response times. A new branch has opened in Al Ain, with further expansion planned. These facilities operate alongside the electronic reporting platform to create a seamless, rapid-response infrastructure.
- Holistic family support: The policy explicitly recognises the family as the optimal environment for child-rearing and provides targeted assistance to parents and caregivers to maintain stability, promote social cohesion, and create secure, nurturing environments. This aligns directly with the forthcoming Year of Family 2026.
From a legal perspective, these developments enhance the justiciability and enforceability of the best-interests principle under Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 (Wadeema Law). By embedding mandatory training for judicial and prosecutorial actors, unified reporting protocols with confidentiality safeguards, and multi-agency coordination, the framework minimizes enforcement gaps and ensures that child protection is not merely declaratory but systematically operationalized across the UAE.
Implications for UAE Family and Child Law
The integration of the best-interests principle across policy and practice has several direct legal consequences:
Please refer to our previous article on Child and Family and Personal Status Law.
- Judicial Decision-Making: Courts must now demonstrably apply the best interests test in custody, guardianship, adoption, and protection proceedings, supported by evidence from coordinated case management.
- Corporate and Institutional Liability: Entities dealing with children (schools, nurseries, healthcare providers) face regulatory obligations to implement internal child protection policies, with potential liability for non-compliance.
- Preventive and Restorative Justice: The policy’s focus on awareness programmes, family support, and early intervention shifts the legal paradigm from reactive punishment toward proactive safeguarding, consistent with restorative approaches in child justice.
- Alignment with National Vision: The developments support broader goals under the UAE’s sustainable development commitments and the forthcoming “Year of Family” in 2026, embedding child rights into long-term legislative and budgetary planning.
Institutionalizing the Best Interests Principle in the Year of Family 2026 and Beyond
As 2026 unfolds as the designated “Year of Family,” the maturation of the Dama Al-Aman framework signals a decisive shift in UAE child protection governance from policy declaration to institutionalized, evidence-driven practice. By integrating federal legislation (Wadeema Law) with emirate-level operational excellence, high-level political leadership, and multi-stakeholder accountability, the UAE is constructing one of the region’s most advanced, culturally attuned, and internationally aligned child protection architectures.
The emphasis on family preservation, preventive intervention, professional capacity-building, and technological innovation ensures that the best interests of the child are no longer an abstract legal standard, but a daily reality enforced through coordinated law, policy, and practice. For legal practitioners, this evolution offers clearer guidance in custody, guardianship, protection, and care proceedings; for policymakers, it provides a scalable model for national rollout; and for families, it delivers tangible reassurance that child safety and wellbeing remain the paramount concern of the state.
Ultimately, these measures reinforce the UAE’s reputation as a regional leader in human rights and child development, while laying out a resilient foundation for future generations. In an era of rapid social and technological transformation, the Dama Al-Aman system bolstered by the Year of Family stands out a model of proactive, family centric governance that places every child’s best interest at the very heart of national progress.
