Ben Yahya: We are working on establishing a national agency for children in need of protection
Follow-up
The Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family, Naima Ben Yahya, confirmed today in Salé that despite the efforts made by all stakeholders in child protection issues, there remain challenges that require unified efforts through an integrated approach.
Ben Yahya explained in her opening speech at a national meeting on “Child Protection: Local Implementation and Quality of Proximity Services,” organized with support from UNICEF, that the challenges involve enhancing prevention programs, coordination, and ensuring alignment to meet children’s needs, as well as empowering local actors to fulfill their roles and effectively implement the provisions of the local protocol and activate the protection process.
She added that these challenges are also linked to the human and material resources allocated for child protection, enhancing the role of civil society, and activating an integrated information system to track children in protective care, in addition to current issues related to violence against children, particularly cyberbullying, and the production of knowledge on childhood issues.
The minister noted that to address the specific challenges faced by institutions that receive children in need of protection, and considering the economic and social context as well as new social initiatives launched that prioritize child protection in the realization of their rights, the government is working on a project to establish a “National Agency for Children in Need of Protection.” This agency aims to strengthen the institutional framework for child protection in Morocco and improve governance and quality in protective services directed at children.
She highlighted that this national meeting aims to give a strong boost to the local dynamics created by the integrated regional mechanism for child protection, which aims to enhance coordination among stakeholders, exchange best practices and opinions on effective ways and mechanisms to improve the quality of services directed toward children in need of protection, achieve alignment, and elevate the quality of preventive and protective child services.
She considered that the integrated regional mechanisms for child protection represent a comprehensive system for child prevention and protection, aiming to enhance coordination among various stakeholders at the local level, in order to achieve alignment between medical, psychological, social, and educational services, as well as those related to follow-up, evaluation, and support, in harmony with judicial protection.
For her part, Amina Afroqui, representative of the Public Prosecution, emphasized that since its establishment and independence, the Public Prosecution has consistently urged public prosecutors to protect children’s rights, safety, and interests, and to accurately assess their situations for effective care, through activating the role of the women and children care units in all courts of the Kingdom.
She highlighted that these units play a role in facilitating access for this group to judicial protection and enhancing their avenues for redress, where the primary goal of this mechanism is to elevate judicial work in the field of childhood, ease children’s access to justice, provide credible justice for the child, and offer specialized support in their cases, ensuring the provision of quality services and managing children’s cases within the courts.
Ghizlane Banjloun, Deputy Chair of the National Observatory for Children’s Rights, affirmed that child protection is not only a legal obligation in relation to international agreements but also a societal issue requiring comprehensive mobilization, political will, and courage in reform.
She highlighted that the National Observatory for Children’s Rights has accumulated, since its establishment in 1995 under the effective leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, a distinguished experience as a supportive national institution, a reference, and an influential body in the field of child protection, through its multiple roles that include monitoring and follow-up, coordination and supervision, advocacy, and knowledge production.
Meanwhile, Laura Bell, UNICEF representative in Morocco, praised the progress Morocco has made in child protection in recent years, particularly the integrated public policy for child protection, considering that the strength of this policy lies in its unified framework for all concerned parties.
She added that activating the integrated regional mechanisms for child protection represents a strategic approach at the provincial level that makes such protection a daily reality, emphasizing the need to activate these mechanisms so that the integrated child protection policy can achieve its objectives.
In this context, she focused on the importance of enhancing local governance for these mechanisms and providing them with the necessary resources and financial support to operate sustainably.
The meeting was marked by the signing of a partnership agreement between the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family and Ibn Tofail University, as well as a work program between the Ministry and UNICEF for 2026-2027, aimed at strengthening partnership and cooperation in scientific research and knowledge production in the social field.
The agenda included two main sessions on “Coordination Mechanisms at the Local Level: Challenges and Prospects for Enhancement” and “Child Protection Services at the Local Level: Current Situation and Prospects for Improvement.”
