A Morocco children rights body launches a series of actions against violence and sexual abuse

The National Observatory for Children Right (ONDE), chaired by Princess Lalla Meryem, announced on Wednesday a series of actions, injecting new national momentum into action to prevent and fight against violence against children, with a focus on sexual abuse.

In addition to the support of local NGOs, ONDE announced that it will organize training sessions for children and children rights defenders, with the creation of regional committees to monitor and evaluate the situation of children.

As part of the first phase of this project, partnership agreements with 15 associations from the different regions of the Kingdom (Laayoune, Zagora, Agadir, Marrakech, Casablanca, Salé, Rabat, Berkane, Chefchaouen and Tangier) were signed.

These NGOs will be provided with technical and financial support amounting to nearly 1 million dirhams. They must therefore conduct awareness programs targeting children and their families to «anchor the culture of children's rights and encourage a culture of prevention and denunciation» of abuse, ONDE indicated in a press release.

Guarantee the effectiveness of laws and develop a Children's Code

In addition to these agreements, partnership agreements with the Ibn Sina University Hospital Center (CHU) in Rabat and Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca have also been signed, with the aim of «strengthening cooperation in expertise, support and medical and psychological care for children, with the prospect of extending collaboration to other university hospitals in the Kingdom».

Training sessions spread over six days, in order to anchor the principle of the best interests of the child and to strengthen the right of participation of children in the institutional protection system, were also launched on Wednesday.

«A qualitative leap at the societal and institutional level is needed to make the child a red line and institute the sanctity of child protection to make it a shared responsibility», Lamia Bazir, ONDE's executive director, said.

During a conference held Wednesday in Rabat, the observatory issued a series of recommendations, emphasizing «the need to accelerate the establishment of integrated territorial mechanisms for the protection of children and strengthen the Child Protection Units (UPE) and Support Centers for Child Protection (CAPE)».