UNICEF's Hopkins, NCHR's Khattab Discuss Cooperation

On Sunday, Jeremy Hopkins, the UNICEF Representative in Egypt, met with H.E. Moushira Khattab, the president of the National Council of Human Rights (NCHR), to discuss means of boosting cooperation on implementing the country's recently launched human rights strategy.

"Today I had an excellent meeting with Amb. Khattab to discuss how UNICEF Egypt and the NCHR will work together to strive for the fulfillment of child rights," said Hopkins.

According to an official statement, Hopkins and Khattab agreed on the outlines of the mutual cooperation between UNICEF, the NCHR, and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) to implement the country's recently launched National Human Rights Strategy.

They have agreed to use the NCCM experience to implement the national human rights strategy to protect children from school dropouts and child labor, the statement noted.

Hopkins affirmed his organization’s keenness to continue providing all aspects of support to Egyptian children and young girls through joint programs.

The head of NCHR praised the NCCM’s expertise in different areas, including the children’s helpline, children with disabilities helpline, and family consultations.

Khattab pointed out that the complaints mechanism in NCHR shall benefit from the NCCM's pioneering experience.

In the same connection, the NCHR president highlighted that the legal framework for the protection of children in Egypt complies with the highest international human rights standards.

Khattab noted that the constitutional status of NCCM shall boost the ability of law enforcement to protect children from school dropouts and the population explosion, which undermine the country’s development.

She also hailed the cooperation with UNICEF in the implementation of the girls’ education initiative as part of the platform to address all forms of violence against children, including the marriage of minors and child labor.

Moreover, the former ambassador revealed that the Egyptian experience in girls’ schools constitutes a pioneering experience in the provision of high-quality education that was documented by UNICEF and inspired many countries worldwide.

It's worth noting that Egypt has been collaborating with UNICEF on a range of humanitarian activities in order to spread awareness about protecting children’s rights.