Morocco renews pledge to uphold children's rights
Morocco, Culture, 1/30/2001

Morocco on Monday renewed pledge to promote and uphold children's rights and to assume responsibility regarding children, in accordance with the World Declaration and other legal covenants related to children's rights.

"We renew.our firm determination to go ahead, take up all challenges, overcome the constraints and assume our basic responsibility regarding children, in accordance with the Convention and other legal frames related to children's rights," said Prince Moulay Rachid at the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly on children held in the United Nations headquarters in New York January 29 through 31.

Prince Moulay Rachid, who is chairman of the Moroccan preparatory committee for the special session, said despite the gains in matters of children's rights promotion, Morocco and all Moroccan living forces remain mobilized to fulfill the hope to make of the coming decade a decisive stage where childhood will live in decency and enjoy all its rights, as stipulated in the World Declaration on Survival, Protection and Development of Children, a declaration, he said, that was ratified by the largest number of nations ever in history.

After he renewed Morocco's adherence to the principles of the World Declaration, Prince Moulay Rachid said the kingdom is keen on promoting "the rights of children excluded by discrimination founded on poverty, sex and other motives (such as autochthonous children, disabled children, migrant children, refugee children)." "The legal frame for the protection of children's rights has indeed progressed, but a large gap between the legal rights of children and the practical exercise of these very rights is yet to be filled," he said.

After he underlined that the promotion of children's rights constitutes a best investment in human resources, Prince Moulay Rachid stressed the need "to prepare the world childhood to take up the challenges of the future through speeding up programs to guarantee schooling to the largest number possible of children, to dramatically curb the child mortality rate, and to promote mother-and-infant and infant-and-child health programs." He also stressed the need for governments and civil society to join efforts "to shield children, everywhere in the world, from the social plagues that thrive on children's vulnerability."

Surveying the moves made by Morocco to promote children's rights and guarantee their dignity, Prince Moulay Rachid pointed out that the kingdom scored tremendous progress as outlined in the latest UNICEF report to its governing board on the fulfillment of the goals of the World Summit on Children.

"According to this report," he said "infant and infant-juvenile death rates recorded a noteworthy decrease, going down respectively, between 1987 and 1997, from 69 to 37 and from 92 to 46 deaths per 1,000 births. Likewise, nine children out of every ten are immunized and no polio case was reported since 1990. The schooling rate has, on its part, reached 80% for the 1999-2000 academic year, compared to 56% in 1990-1991."

Prince Moulay Rachid deplored the situation of hundreds of millions of children in the world who still suffer "from famine, malnutrition, non-schooling, diseases, ill-treatment, exploitation for shameful ends, gender-founded social discrimination and regional disparities," calling the international community to eradicate such plagues and to take up the challenges of the coming decade.

Princess Lalla Meriem, chairwoman of the national observatory for children's rights and chairwoman of the Moroccan association of support to the UNICEF, is also attending the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly on children.

The Special Session on Children-- slated for September 19-21, 2001 at the United Nations in New York City-- will review the progress made for children in the decade since the 1990 World Summit for Children when the World Declaration on Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a plan of action were adopted.

World leaders will explore the long-standing challenges of serving and protecting children, as well as the issues emerging in this rapidly changing world. They will be asked to identify strategic solutions to the problems facing children and to commit the critical human and economic resources that will be called for.

On the sidelines of the preparatory committee meeting, Prince Moulay Rachid held separate meetings with Italian social affairs minister, Ms Livia Turco, and assistant director general at the Norwegian foreign ministry, Ms Mette Ravn.

Princess Lalla Meriem conferred with secretary general of the Egyptian national council for childhood and motherhood, Ms Mouchira Kattab.

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