This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
The work of the national meeting devoted to monitoring the implementation of the territorial protocol for the care of children in vulnerability were opened on Monday in Skhirat, bringing together institutional, judicial and associative partners around a common objective: strengthening the coordination and efficiency of child protection at the local level.
Organized by the presidency of the public prosecutor in partnership with UNICEF, this two -day meeting aims to take stock of the operationalization of the protocol signed in May 2024, on the occasion of the National Day of the Child, and to identify the levers for a better convergence of actions between the provincial, regional and the various stakeholders.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, stressed that this protocol reflects a strong political will to build an integrated child protection system, capable of effectively responding to situations of vulnerability to which children are exposed in Morocco.
The Minister insisted on the need for collective mobilization and close coordination between all actors – social, judicial and associative – to ensure the prevention, care and integration of children, while guaranteeing their fundamental right to a safe and protective environment.
For its part, the Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, Naïma Ben Yahia, recalled that her department is actively working on the implementation of the second executive program of integrated public policy for child protection (2015-2025). It emphasized the central role of the family as the first protective bulwark, announcing the development of a new “social family policy” aimed at strengthening the economic and social resilience of Moroccan households.
The UNICEF representative in Morocco, Laura Bill, praised the collaborative approach carried by this protocol, which she described as a model of cooperation between the executive, the judiciary and civil society. It highlighted the importance of guaranteeing equitable access to quality services for all vulnerable children.
Ghizlane Benjelloun, vice-president of the National Observatory for the Rights of the Child (Wave), has highlighted the advances made but also the persistent obstacles: lack of interinstitutional coordination, insufficient human and financial resources, weaknesses in evaluation systems, and need to intensify awareness on the challenges linked to the infantile vulnerability.
On the program of this meeting is a plenary session of presentation of the national assessment of the protocol, as well as two sessions of reflection on the legal and social dimensions of care.
