The integrated action plan of the national roadmap for the eradication of child labor in Morocco by 2030 was adopted on Monday in Rabat during a national tripartite seminar organized under the chairmanship of the Minister of ‘Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri.
This action plan, adopted as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to achieve target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be submitted to the secretariat of the International Alliance 8.7, which will allow the Kingdom to confirm its status as a pioneer country in the fight against child labour.
The said action plan has two objectives, namely the eradication of child labor under the age of 15, with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector, and the gradual elimination of the employment of minors aged 16 to 18 in hazardous work by 2030.
Speaking on this occasion, Sekkouri said that this plan revolves around three strategic axes, namely the acceleration of the prevention of child labor, through the fight against poverty, school drop-out, the acquisition of professional skills and information and awareness-raising.
It is also a matter of consolidating national regulations, strengthening control, withdrawing and taking charge of working children, noted the minister, adding that the third axis relates to the strengthening of governance and the monitoring and evaluation.
He noted that the elimination of child labor has a social dimension, specifying that the reform of the Labor Code should constitute a guarantee of the prevention of child labor but also an effective means in terms of corporate accountability against any form of child labour.
For her part, Laura Palatini, Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration, representative of Nathalie Fustier, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, highlighted the results achieved by Morocco in the fight against child labor , noting that the validation of this roadmap is a very important step for Morocco in its process of eliminating child labour.
Quoting the latest figures from the High Commission for Planning (HCP), Palatini highlighted the downward trend in child labor in Morocco. Thus, of the 7,690,000 children aged 7 to 17 last year, 127,000 had an economic activity, or 1.6% of this age group.
For her part, the Director of the office of the International Labor Organization for Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, Rania Bikhazi affirmed that Morocco is a pioneer country in Alliance 8.7, a global partnership committed to achieving SDG target 8.7 by 2030.
Bikhazi noted that the number of children aged 7 to under 15 at work increased from 517,000 in 1999 to 147,000 people in 2010, noting that Morocco has done everything to combat all forms of child labor, especially those aged from 15 years.
This high-level national seminar initiated in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO), is part of the international commitment made by Morocco, as a member of Alliance 8.7, to achieve the target 8.7 of the SDGs for 2030.
All the actors concerned participated in this event, namely the ministerial departments, the national institutions, the social partners, the representatives of international organizations in Morocco, as well as the representatives of civil society.