HIBAPRESS – MAP
Younes Sekkouri, the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, stated on Wednesday in Marrakech that Morocco is ready to place its expertise in combating child labor at the disposal of the International Labour Organization, with the aim of exchanging successful experiences and supporting global efforts to combat this phenomenon.
Sekkouri explained, during a joint press conference with the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Gilbert Houngbo, following the opening session of the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, that the national experience is based on an integrated preventive approach to protect children from early employment, based on multiple interventions aimed at protecting childhood and ensuring the right of every child to growth, education, and protection. He highlighted, in this context, that the National Human Development Initiative represents one of the main pillars of this approach, which seeks to generalize the early education program for children aged 4 to 6 years, to ensure that every child starts a comprehensive and safe educational path. The Minister continued that the national strategy also includes the establishment of second chance schools and vocational training programs for children and young people who have dropped out of school, in a way that allows them to acquire practical skills that enable them to integrate into the labor market in a decent and sustainable manner, and provide educational and vocational alternatives that prevent them from early entry into work. Alongside social and educational intervention, Mr. Sekkouri pointed out that Morocco attaches great importance to the legal aspect, through strengthening the national legal arsenal, expanding the scope of social protection, and providing direct social support to the most vulnerable children and families. The Minister concluded that "these measures aim to ensure the legal and material protection of every child from exploitation through early work, and that the benefiting families are able to provide decent living conditions for their children." This conference, organized under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, until February 13, falls within the framework of evaluating the progress made and the existing challenges since the Fifth Global Conference held in Durban in 2022, and enhancing peer learning, international cooperation, and the harmonization of public policies at the national, regional, and global levels. This international event, organized by the Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills in partnership with the International Labour Organization, aims to highlight the links between the elimination of child labor and the other fundamental principles and rights at work, and to give a new impetus to the work aimed at promoting these principles and rights, and encouraging new commitments in this direction, especially through the Global Coalition for Social Justice.
