Fez — Morocco's Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family, Aawatif Hayar, highlighted, on Monday in Fez, the importance of cooperation between the judiciary and the governmnt to ensure comprehensive protection for children.
In a speech read on her behalf at the opening of the national meeting on the implementation of the National Conference on the Protection of Children in Contact with the Law, the Minister explained that since the field of child protection is multidimensional and multidisciplinary, it requires cooperation between the judiciary and the government to ensure integrated protection of the child guaranteeing their best interests, in particular for children in contact with the law.
In this context, she stressed the importance of the contribution of all stakeholders, including law enforcement and social, educational, cultural and other actors, in achieving effective and integrated care for children in contact with the law, whether they are in conflict with the law, in difficult situations or victims of crime.
Hayar recalled that the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family has been working on the development of the second national program for the implementation of the integrated public child protection policy 2015-2025, the main lines of which were presented on May 27 on the occasion of National Children's Day.
She pointed out that this program is built around prevention and protection, expanding the range of social services to achieve spatial justice and create a new generation of services, while using personal development and leisure to unleash children's creative energies and prepare them for the post-18 stage.
The government official added that the second national executive program of the integrated public policy for child welfare also focuses on digital violence, supporting the youngest children and providing an institutional environment of proximity and quality in services and practices.
The Minister also announced that the government is working on the legal framework for the creation of a national agency in charge of promoting child welfare and improving the situation of children in need of care, whether they be children in difficult situations, neglected children or children in contact with the law.
In this regard, she affirmed that this meeting is an opportunity to reaffirm the will and determination to intensify the efforts of the various stakeholders to advance children's issues, to which His Majesty King Mohammed VI pays particular attention, also recalling the commitment and personal involvement of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, President of the National Observatory for the Rights of Children (ONDE).
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
For his part, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid stressed, in a speech read on his behalf, that engaging in ambitious reform projects linked to the development of Morocco's child welfare system is one of his department's top priorities.
The Minister added that children in contact must be protected and cared for in a safe and stable environment, as this is "not only their fundamental right, but also an investment in the future of our society as a whole".
Bensaid noted that the treatment of this category of children relies on cooperation and convergence between the various parties concerned, so as to rationalize the human and financial resources mobilized for this purpose.
In this respect, he stressed that his department is working tirelessly to implement its commitments concerning the activation of the tripartite child welfare agreement, as well as the agreement on the activation of the territorial protocol for the care of children in vulnerable situations.
The Minister also referred to the mobilization of all available capacities to strengthen the role of child welfare centers and the probation system in monitoring and integrating children in contact with the law, reinforcing children's reintegration programs and ensuring their participation in various cultural and recreational initiatives and programs organized by the Ministry and its partners at national and local levels, which have yielded encouraging results.
