Within the framework of the SESRIC's Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB) and in line with the relevant resolutions of the First Ministerial Conference on Social Development in the OIC Member States, SESRIC, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Child Services of the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, organised a Training Workshop on “Protecting and Advancing Children's Rights Including the Ones with Disabilities” on 22-24 February 2022 through an online video conferencing platform.

The training workshop was provided by competent experts from the General Directorate of Child Services of the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye for the benefit of 71 experts and executives from the Ministries and relevant national institutions in charge of child services in 21 OIC Member Countries. The training workshop also included the country experience sharing session where representatives from the relevant national institutions of Guinea, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan highlighted the best practices and initiatives of their respective countries in this domain. In addition, a representative from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) made a comprehensive presentation of UNICEF’s efforts on the protection and welfare of children.

The training workshop aimed to strengthen the technical capacities of the participants on policies and strategies for protecting and advancing the rights of children, including those with special needs, as well as sharing knowledge, experience and best practices among the relevant national institutions of the OIC Member Countries to develop and implement appropriate national strategies to promote and preserve the rights of children.

The training workshop started with the opening statement of H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, who highlighted the extensive efforts of OIC Member Countries in collaboration with the relevant OIC institutions and international partners in promoting child welfare, child well-being and protecting children's rights in the Muslim world. H.E. Mr. DABUR also briefed the participants on the Centre's efforts in the field related to its mandated areas, namely statistics, research, and training. Particularly in the area of research, the Centre regularly prepares various technical background reports and studies to promote protection and advancement of children's rights in OIC Member Countries, he added. H.E. Mr. DABUR also stressed the need for strengthening and enhancing cooperation and collaboration on various child welfare issues at both the national, intra-OIC and international cooperation levels to improve the state of children in the OIC Member Countries.

In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Dr. Musa ŞAHİN, Director General of Child Services at the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, began by thanking SESRIC for jointly organizing this important training workshop. He informed the participants about the initiatives and efforts of the Republic of Türkiye towards protecting and advancing children's rights and child prevention services. He also emphasized the readiness and willingness of their Ministry to strengthen the already existing strong ties with the Ministries and relevant national institutions in charge of child services in the OIC Member Countries.

SESRIC developed its Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB) in 2021 with the aim of supporting and contributing to the efforts of the OIC Member Countries towards enhancing the institutional and human capacities of their national institutions working in the fields of social development. The programme facilitates transferring, sharing and exchanging of knowledge, experiences and best practices among the member countries in this important domain through various modalities such as training courses, training workshops and technical study visits. For more details about SESRIC’s SD-CaB and its activities, please visit: https://www.sesric.org/sd-cab.php.

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