Assahafa.com
The partnership agreement signed on Wednesday in Rabat between the National Observatory for Children’s Rights (ONDE), chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, and the UNESCO, reflects a strategic commitment to the fundamental right of every child to quality, inclusive, equitable, and transformative education throughout life, stated the Observatory’s Vice-President, Ghizlane Benjelloun.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Benjelloun emphasized that this partnership falls within the framework of implementing the Right to Education Assessment Tool in a systemic transformation perspective (Right to Education PATT), developed by UNESCO as part of the STEER initiative.
This tool aims to enable the Kingdom of Morocco to carry out a structured self-assessment of its legal and policy frameworks, in light of the international normative framework of the right to education and its evolving dimensions, articulated around the “4As”: accessibility, availability, acceptability, and adaptability, enriched by the cross-cutting dimension of accountability, she explained.
Through this agreement, ONDE and UNESCO aim to systematically analyze the alignment of the national legal and policy framework with Morocco’s international commitments regarding the right to education; strengthen national capacities for human rights-based analysis for the benefit of technical teams and relevant stakeholders; structure a coherent and prioritized national roadmap supporting ongoing education reforms; and position Morocco as a regional pilot country in systemic evaluation of the right to education, thereby contributing to the sharing of experiences and peer learning at the international level.
Benjelloun expressed her deep gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, whose High Directives guide the Observatory in fulfilling its mission, and whose overarching vision, grounded in the values of social justice, equity, and integrated human development, guides public action in the Kingdom in the areas of education, child protection, and the consolidation of the rule of law.
She also expressed her gratitude and recognition to HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, President of ONDE, whose “constant commitment, enlightened vision, and tireless dedication to the protection and promotion of children’s rights constitute a source of inspiration for all our institutional work.”
Furthermore, she expressed the hope that this partnership agreement will mark the beginning of fruitful, sustainable cooperation yielding tangible results for the benefit of children and youth in Morocco, and that it will help strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a committed actor and regional reference in promoting and protecting the right to education.
For his part, the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office, Charaf Ahmimed, stated that this partnership marks an important step in the shared commitment of ONDE and UNESCO toward a more equitable, inclusive, and forward-looking education system.
He further affirmed that education is a fundamental right whose effective implementation is key to any sustainable transformation, noting that the right to education provides a clear framework for action and goes beyond a sectoral approach by considering education in its entirety, integrating issues of quality, equity, and governance.
Through this partnership, ONDE and UNESCO aim to contribute to the more effective realization of the right to education by placing a child rights-based approach at the heart of public policies and positioning Morocco as a pilot country in the region in terms of self-assessment.
Source: map
