Assahafa.com
The child is a key actor in Africa’s development process and in shaping the continent’s future prospects, said on Friday in Rabat the Ambassador, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) Mohamed Methqal.
Speaking at the opening of the first edition of the African Forum of the Child Parliament, organized by the National Observatory for Children’s Rights (ONDE), under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, and under the Effective Presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, Methqal stressed that “the child is not merely a passive recipient or beneficiary of policies designed by others, but a present and future actor of nations, a bearer of ideas, solutions, and initiatives.”
He noted that the involvement of children gives real meaning to public policies and makes them essential actors in the process of integrated and sustainable development, adding that this Forum reflects a shared political vision that places the African child at the heart of the continent’s future and the challenges it faces.
Methqal pointed out that since its creation in May 1995 under the Effective Presidency of HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, ONDE has worked to give concrete expression to the Kingdom’s commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, through the protection and promotion of these rights in all areas.
The integrated Royal Vision forming the foundation of ONDE’s actions, he continued, has contributed to promoting children’s rights by raising the schooling rate to 98%, significantly reducing child labor, developing reporting and listening mechanisms for child victims of violence, and integrating children into national social protection and human development strategies.
He further stressed that “the promotion of children’s rights goes beyond the national dimension.”
“Our commitments to Africa require us to be even more attentive to the worrying situation experienced by children on the continent,” he said, adding that “this is the greatest challenge we must collectively address, given that the number of children in Africa is approaching one billion – an immense human resource.”
In this regard, he called for a collective commitment to address major challenges: 950 million children under 18, 100 million out-of-school children in Africa, 40 million affected by climate change, 48,000 victims of exploitation in armed conflicts, and millions deprived of access to the digital space and technologies of the future.
Methqal underlined that in the face of this harsh reality, the Kingdom of Morocco, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has developed an integrated and solidarity-based South-South cooperation approach, making human capital development a central pillar of sustainable development in Africa.
In the same context and in line with HM King Mohammed VI’s enlightened Vision, AMCI, in coordination with its partners, works to contribute to Africa’s development by implementing cooperation programs in fields related to sustainable development and by mobilizing Moroccan expertise in numerous areas for the benefit of many brotherly African countries. He added that AMCI closely cooperates with ONDE to launch a continental initiative to promote the rights of African children.
According to Methqal, the participation of child parliamentarians in the work of the 1st African Parliament of Children, which aims to become a landmark platform for a promising Africa, will make them key actors in decision-making processes in their countries and will enable them to take initiatives to build a better future.
This two-day forum, held under the theme “Children’s participation in Africa’s development,” brings together more than 80 young parliamentarians from various African countries and from the 12 regions of the Kingdom to discuss key issues such as access to healthcare, mental health, inclusive education, the fight against early marriage, the phenomenon of street children, child labor, and other matters related to child protection in Africa.
Source: map
