Technical sheet regarding the integrated public policy for child protection.

Background and justification

The ministry of solidarity, women, family and social development, launched in 2013, in consultation with all stakeholders and with the support of UNICEF, the preparation process relating to the project of the integrated public policy for child protection. (PPIPEM).This project is based on :

• The High Royal Directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, in the field of promoting the situation of children;
• The provisions of the new constitution of 2011 adopting the right of the child to protection as a constitutional right;
• The objectives of the government program 2012-2016 regarding the promotion of children's rights against any form of violence;
• The provisions of international conventions ratified by Morocco in the field of childhood.

The project also responds to the recommendations of the mid-term evaluation of the National Plan of Action for Children 2006-2015. This policy project, aiming to build a protective and sustainable environment against all forms of neglect, abuse, violence and exploitation, provides a harmonized and federated framework , implementing an integrated system for child protection which:

• Includes an effective and comprehensive arsenal including all measures and actions aiming to prohibit, prevent and respond to all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation and violence against children;
• Clearly defines operational synergies and coordination mechanisms;
• Increases accessibility, territorial coverage, standardization, continuum and the impact of actions and services, by streamlining and optimizing resources.

• Process:

• A participatory and collaborative process was adopted for the preparation of the PPIPEM Project . This process was carried out in several stages. It consisted of a political and technical mobilization of actors concerned , to establish a situational analysis for child protection in Morocco and build a common vision to improve it on the basis of a new approach and set strategic priorities and objectives of this improvement.

• The consultation process has involved more than 700 key actors (government departments, civil society, local authorities, experts, ..) both at the central and territorial levels. In addition , 731 children have been consulted during the focus groups and more than a hundred children have also been consulted through the online consultation.

• The results of these processes have been communicated to the special ministerial commission on children chaired by the Head of government, which held two meetings on 24 July 2013 and 30 January 2014.

• These consultations were crowned by the organization in April 2014, of the 1st national conference on the PPIPEM project under the theme: "Children, our present and future ... protecting them"

• The national conference has focused on the levers of implementation , in particular, the partnership with civil society, the reinforcement of reporting mechanisms, remedies, and convergence of international cooperation programs and corporate social responsibility

• Target population :

This policy targets all children aged less than18 years, requiring protection, namely:

• Children victims of abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, including the sale and trafficking;
• Children at high risk : children without families (orphaned, abandoned ), children living in poor families in remote / rural areas; children living in dysfunctional families, children out of school , children who work, children who had not been registered at birth, street children, children with disabilities, children using drugs, children placed in institutions, children in detention separated migrant children…..
• Children who become witnesses

This policy also targets families and communities where children live and grow, especially:

• Poor families (biological, adoptive, extended, single parent ..) and communities or in precarious situations,
• Families and communities living in rural or remote areas, that do not have an easy access to basic social services;
• Families in difficulty without parenting skills for the protection of their children.

Strategic objectives :

The policy's objective is to ensure to all the children in Morocco an effective and durable protection against all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect. This policy is divided into five strategic objectives:

1. Strengthening the legal framework regarding child protection and its effectiveness;

2. Installation of integrated territorial devices for child protection;

3. Standardization of structures and practices;

4. Promotion of social child protection standards; Implementation of reliable and standardized information systems with regular monitoring and evaluation

Mechanisms of implementation of the PPIPEM

On october 30, 2014, the ministerial commission in charge of monitoring the implementation of policies and national plans in the field of promotion and protection of children's rights, chaired by the Head of Government, has approved by decree, published in the official bulletin, on November 19, 2014.

• The commission is composed of 22 departments involved in child protection. Its mission is to:
• Monitor the implementation of international conventions in the field of children;
• Make recommendations on the legislative and administrative measures aiming to improve the promotion and protection of children's rights;
• Ensure the necessary coordination between the different government authorities for the implementation of the national policies and plans in this field; Take decisions and make recommendations on the necessary measures to overcome the problems arising from the implementation of national policies and plans in the field of promotion and protection of children's rights.

Consolidation of child participation

This document gives an overview of the children's  consultation   carried out within the framework of the development of the   Integrated Public Policy for Child Protection.

The general context  of the consultation:

The choice of the participatory approach for  developing an  Integrated Public Policy with regard to Child Protection , is a fundamental choice aiminig to integrate all the  takeholders expectations , in particular  children in the document PPIPEM.

The consultation's aim  is to inform children about the PPIPEM  project and allow them to contribute effectively to the development of this project in a way that  their opinions are taken into consideration, in accordance with the  provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

To this end, an important consideration has been reserved for the preparation of the children's consultation , and its implementation, taking into account the opinions, expectations and proposals of children regarding design, planning, implementation,monitoring and evaluation.

Objectives of children's consultation

General objective

-Children's participation in preparing the integrated public policy regarding the protection of Children.

Specific objectives

• Inform children about the preparation of policy;
• Provide an opportunity for effective exercise. children's participation should be seen as an exchange and  sharing of experiences and ideas between them;
• Support children's ability to be active participants, become more conscious of their interests  and express their views
• Collect children's perceptions  regarding different aspects of the protection;
• Collect children's opinions on  the effective protection  programs;
• Support children's ability to   protect themselves more effectively and promote their rights
• Capitalize on the children's views for the ongoing child protection programs

PPIPEM Partners

The results emerging from consultations related to the preparation of the Integrated Public Policy regarding Child Protection have shown the importance of partnerships with associations and their roles to establish appropriate responses that can fight against all forms of violence and neglect.

Associations contribute actively to  raise awareness against violence, exploitation and neglect, with a view to  creating a common awareness aiming at  strengthening the protective environment for children.

Following the 4 + 4 strategy of the social pole , the Ministry launched a call for projects for associations in respect of the year 2014 in the following areas:

1-Support to reception and listening centres and centres for psychological, social and legal assistance for child victims of violence,sexual abuse, exploitation and neglect;

2-Support to care centres for children deprived of a family environment;

3-Support to training programs  allowing for the enhancement of quality of support for child victims of violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and neglect; 

4-Support to projects that promote the culture of children's rights through awareness-raising activities  and enrichment of the public debate on violence against children and exploitation.

Within this context, several associations have received budget support for the implementation of partnership projects.