Princess Lalla Meryem awarded UNESCO Medal; ISS space station cosmonauts send support letter

UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura awarded on Tuesday UNESCO's medal to Princess Lalla Meryem, a UNESCO good will ambassador and chairwoman of the National Observatory for Children Rights (ONDE).

The princess was awarded the UNESCO distinction during the opening ceremony of a conference on "Children's rights and human security in the Euro-Mediterranean region."

Meantime, the international space station "ISS" crew sent a message to princess Lalla Meryem, chairwoman of the Moroccan observatory of children rights and UNESCO good will ambassador, supporting any endeavor meant to protect the dignity, basic rights and security of children.

Russian cosmonauts and astronauts, Valeri Korzum and Sergui Tritchiov and American Peggy Winston expressed their support in a message they sent to a Euro-Mediterranean conference held in Marrakesh this Oct.22-24. The conference, held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI, is chaired by the princess.

We cosmonauts-astronauts onboard the international space station, are happy to extend our greetings to all participants in the Euro-Mediterranean conference on children rights. We strongly support all endeavors to protect the dignity, basic rights and security of children. Much has been achieved but we have to do more and better in the difficult situation that the world is experiencing, the message says.

From the space, here, we are watching an extraordinarily-beautiful and peaceful planet. Our responsibility is to give our children a beautiful and peaceful world to live in, the ISS crew says.

We are sending our best wishes to the children taking part in the conference and to all of you, particularly Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, and to the Moroccan observatory of children rights.