During this meeting of the PSC on “the prevention of child recruitment in conflict situations”, chaired by the Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi, the Moroccan delegation stressed that in accordance with international commitments in this area, Morocco has been involved very early in the international dynamics of defense and protection of children.
Indeed, Morocco ratified in 1993 the international convention on the rights of the child of 1989, and adhered in 2002 to the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child, concerning the involvement of children in armed conflicts of 2000, recalled the Moroccan delegation, noting that several advances in child protection have been achieved in the Kingdom, including through several integrated public policies for child protection.
As part of the initiatives taken by Morocco in favor of children in Africa, the campaign “African cities without street children”, launched in 2018 by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-Africa) in partnership with the National Observatory of Children’s Rights (ONDE) of Morocco, aimed to address a shared African issue, that of the vulnerability and precariousness of children by drawing attention to the unacceptable situation where more and more children in Africa who should be in their homes and schools spend their childhood on the street where they are exposed to all dangers, noted the Moroccan delegation.
To face the inhuman and heinous crimes against this fragile category of society, Morocco advocates for a holistic and multidimensional approach to deal with this danger as well as a coordination of efforts of the international community to effectively fight against this dilemma of the exploitation of children in conflict situations, the Moroccan delegation stressed.
In order to have a global and clear vision on this phenomenon, Morocco has created a Research Center on the Prevention of Child Soldiers in order to acquire precise, qualitative and quantitative data on the subject. Supported by academic research, this Center is expected to formulate concrete proposals, according to a plural approach, both global and local, academic and political, combining fight and prevention, and especially serving as a catalyst of the nexus: Peace, Security and Development, said the Moroccan delegation.
It noted that the hosting of such a center in Morocco testifies to its pioneering role as a provider of peace, security and stability as well as its firm commitment not only to prevent but also to fight tirelessly the scourge of exploitation of innocent children by armed groups and militias, so that Africa can fully benefit from one of its wealth, namely, its human capital.
