"Federal National" Adopts 11 recommendations on the subject of family protection, its concept and entity

ABU DHABI, 8 April 2026 – The Federal National Council adopted 11 recommendations on the topic of “Protecting the Family, Its Concept, and Its Entity,” which it discussed in its fourth session of its third regular session of the eighteenth legislative term, which was held on January 21, 2026, within the themes of “Challenges affecting the formation of the Emirati family, threats to family security in Emirati society, and social changes and their impact on family stability.”

Branching out from the first axis, entitled “Challenges Affecting the Formation of the Emirati Family,” were two observations. The Council recommended regarding the first: “Media and social communication and their role in the spread of alien ideas,” on the importance of coordination between the parties concerned with the media to ensure that licensees and providers of media and digital content, across various platforms, are obligated not to publish anything that offends the family or one of its members or reveals its privacy, under any form, or is inconsistent with national identity, social values, public taste, and the constants of Emirati society, and to urge At the same time, these platforms publish everything that stimulates the formation of citizen families through marriage between male and female citizens, provide stability factors for them, and increase their numbers in accordance with state policy.

He also recommended, regarding the second observation, which is: “The high cost of living and its impact on the formation of the Emirati family,” that necessary measures be taken to stimulate the formation of the national family through marriage between male and female citizens, and to increase the number of members of the national families, provided that among the means of stimulation is ensuring the entry of the largest group of newly married young people into the circle of real benefit from the assistance and funds concerned with housing, regardless of their activities, types, and services, and coordination between what is federal and what is local in this regard in order to achieve the desired goal, and increase the beginning of the child allowance link, and ensure The value of this allowance increases progressively and annually in proportion to the increase in prices, provided that the value of this allowance is increased with each new birth.

Three observations emerged from the second axis, entitled “Threats to Family Security in Emirati Society,” and the Council recommended regarding the first: “Protecting the family and its members from domestic violence,” the necessity of ensuring the implementation of laws and evidence that guarantee the continuity of protection of the family against the practice of any form of violence and abuse among its members, in a way that confirms the use of means of psychological evaluation and follow-up of the required treatments, and the non-recurrence of any violations that may occur.

Recommendations regarding the second observation, namely: “Balance between the Emirati mother’s participation in the labor market and her family role,” called for approximating, whenever possible, the work conditions and returns of Emirati human resources working in the government sector and the private sector in order to ensure a commitment to an urgent response to the implementation of flexible work systems and patterns as long as their conditions and evidence are available. Examples of this include “mothers’ cases of children under 12 years old, pregnant women, humanitarian cases, and caring for the elderly and people of determination,” and amending maternity leave for working women so that it becomes a minimum of 98 paid days. Wage, and this leave will not have any negative impact on her job and pension rights, with the possibility of dividing it in cases that require it, and continuing the commitment to implement the Council of Ministers’ decision to establish nurseries in workplaces as long as the conditions for applying and activating this decision are met.

Regarding the third observation, which is: “The effectiveness of family guidance centers and the role of Emiratisation in non-governmental family counseling centers in the stability of the Emirati family,” the recommendations emphasized the necessity of transferring the affiliation of reform and family guidance centers from the courts to the Ministry of Family, making them close to the atmosphere of family interaction and far from the atmosphere of judicial confrontations and the negative effects that may result from them, and working to increase the number of citizen mentors in these centers, in a way that enables them to expand their role to include a preventive role and follow-up of cases that need this in coordination with the concerned authorities, and to reorganize the counseling centers. Non-governmental families, to ensure the strengthening of the participation of national competencies in this vital sector, in cooperation with the concerned authorities.

Two observations emanated from the third axis, entitled “Social changes and their impact on family stability.” The recommendations regarding the first, namely: “The adequacy of the procedures followed after death in ensuring social protection for widows and their families,” emphasized the importance of developing a “national system for immediate electronic notification of the incident of death” so that it achieves urgent connection between all concerned parties to ensure the disbursement of a “federal condolence allotment” that is disbursed automatically and promptly and is sufficient for the widow, and continues to be disbursed until the final settlement. for their entitlements, while ensuring the right to housing for widows after the death of their husbands, in a way that balances legal and social considerations with the financial rights of the heirs, all in coordination with the relevant authorities.

Regarding the second observation, which is: “The repercussions of divorce on family stability and the role of the relevant authorities in mitigating its effects,” the recommendations stressed the importance of amending the conditions and controls for providing housing assistance, to accommodate the case of divorced, non-custodial citizenship within the housing entitlement pathways, ensuring the provision of suitable housing or suitable housing alternatives for those whose capabilities are unable to provide independent housing, in coordination with the competent authorities, and establishing a national alimony fund in coordination with the relevant authorities, which is responsible for ensuring that the adjudicated expenses are disbursed immediately and continuously, in cases where the husband is unable to pay. For alimony, such as in cases of insolvency, travel, absence, or other forms of insolvency, while enabling the Fund to seek recourse against the husband for the amounts disbursed and through the prescribed legal methods.

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