UAE says misuse of ICTs had become a threat to the health of children

The United Arab Emirates has said that the misuse of information and communications technologies had become a threat to the health of children. 

This came during a statement made by Saeed Al Marzouqi, from the UAE mission to the UN in Geneva, before an interactive session of the Human Rights Council on information and communications technologies and child sexual exploitation. 

"Developments on the Internet needed to be followed up closely, and such monitoring needed to be done in both developed and developing countries," he said. 

Al Marzouqi added that the United Arab Emirates was working on raising awareness, including among families, and was also leading an international task force in the field. 

He added that the country's efforts culminated in its election in November 2015 as chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) - an international alliance of 18 law enforcement agencies and private sector partners dedicated to combating online child sexual abuse - for the next three years. 

The UAE also stressed that international cooperation remains a key means to identify and locate offenders to ensure proper protection for the children in cyberspace.