A committee comprising representatives of relevant institutions in the UAE has also been set up to look into the possibility of acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Work is being done to bring the country's laws into line with the provisions governed by these instruments, to prepare the ground for accession by the State.
Apart from the legal framework, practical procedures have been put in place on the ground to assist in the protection of women and children. For example, the Dubai Association for the Protection of Women and Children was founded in 2007 to provide psychological support to all women and children, whether nationals or expatriates, who are victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, neglect, ill-treatment by an employer, or other social problems. The Association organises educational, awareness and capacity-building courses in this field. Ministry of the Interior social welfare centres also protect women and children from domestic violence