UNICEF and the European Union (EU) have pledged €2.447 million aimed at safeguarding the rights of migrant children in Morocco, according to a joint statement issued on Friday by the two institutions.
Announced on Friday on the occasion of National Child Day, this project will benefit all migrant children in the Kingdom estimated at 10 percent of the migrant population, 35 percent of whom are girls.
This project, to be run over the 2018 – 2020 period, aims to ensure better access for migrant children, including victims of trafficking in Morocco.
More specifically, this new project aims to ensure that all migrant children, regardless of their legal status, have equitable access to education, health care, appropriate social and legal care and appropriate housing conditions.
The project also includes their right for the children to have their say in the decisions affecting them. This will help ensure that decisions made in their case are based on the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular the principle of the best interests of the child.
“We are delighted to see Morocco join UNICEF’s global call for the protection of the rights of migrant children and to make its commitment into action. A child is a child and their rights do not know borders,” Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Representative in Morocco was quoted as saying in the statement.
A steering committee coordinated by the Ministry of Moroccans Residing Abroad and Migration Affairs will monitor its implementation of the project.
SOURCE: Journal du Cameroun
