Committee on the Rights of the Child s31

CRC/C/MAR/CO/3-4

/ United Nations / CRC/C/MAR/CO/3-4
/ Convention on the
Rights of the Child / Distr.: General
19 September 2014
Original: English
ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION

Committee on the Rights of the Child

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports of Morocco of 30 May 2012 (CRC/C/MAR/3-4), adopted by the Committee at its sixty-seven session (1-19 September 2014)

1. The Committee considered the consolidated third and fourth periodic reports (CRC/C/MAR/3-4) at its 1906 and 1907 meetings (see CRC/C/SR. 1906 and 1907), held on 3 September 2014, and adopted, at its 1929th meeting, held on 19 September 2014, the following concluding observations.

I. Introduction

2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the consolidated third and fourth periodic reports of the State party (CRC/C/MAR/3-4) and the written replies to its list of issues (CRC/C/MAR/Q/3-4/Add.1), which allowed for a better understanding of the situation of children’s rights in the State party.

3. The Committee expresses appreciation for the very open and constructive dialogue held with the high-level and multisectoral delegation of the State party. The Committee notes as positive the assurances given by the delegation of the State party of its political willingness to undertake necessary reforms, address challenges related to children’s rights and reinforce its cooperation with human rights bodies.

II. Follow-up measures undertaken and progress achieved by the State party

4. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the following legislative measures:

(a) The revision of article 6 of the Nationality Code (Act 62-06 of 23 March of 2007) which allows children to obtain their mother’s nationality;

(b) Act No.14-05 on the opening and administration of social welfare institutions of 2006;

(c) The reform of the Family Code, published in the Official Gazette No.5184 on 5 February 2004; and

(d) The reform of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure which reinforces the protection of children in conflict with the law.

5. The Committee notes with appreciation the ratification of:

(a) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities and its Optional Protocol in April 2009;

(b) The International Convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance in May 2013;

(c) The Protocol to Prevent, Supress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes in April 2011;

(d) The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) in 2013;

(d) The Council of Europe Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights in 2013; and

(e) The Council of Europe Convention on Contact concerning Children in 2013.

6. The Committee welcomes the following institutional and policy measures:

(a) The Governmental Plan for Gender Equality 2012-2016 “Ikram”;

(b) The 2009- 2012 Education Emergency Programme (EEP);

(c) The National Action Plan for Children (2006-2015); and

(d) The National Human Development Initiative launched in 2005 and its specific component on the protection and promotion of children’s rights.

III. Main areas of concern and recommendations

A. General measures of implementation (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6, of the Convention)

The Committee’s previous recommendations

7. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to address those recommendations that have not been implemented or not sufficiently implemented and, in particular, those related to data collection (para.20), training and dissemination (para. 22).

Reservations

8. While welcoming the withdrawal of the State party’s reservation to article 14 para. 1 of the Convention, the Committee regrets that this reservation has been replaced by an interpretative declaration, which continues to affect the implementation of the rights guaranteed in this article.

9. The Committee, in line with its previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.211 of 2003, para. 8) and in light of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, encourages the State party to withdraw its interpretative declaration to article 14 para. 1 of the Convention.

Legislation

10. The Committee notes with appreciation the recognition, through the 2011 new Constitution, of thesupremacy ofinternationalconventions over domesticlaws, as well as the significant legislative reforms undertaken during the reporting period to incorporate the rights and principles of the Convention into domestic legal order, as previously recommended. The Committee remains however concerned about :

(a) The lack of progress in the adoption of a comprehensive Children’s Code, the elaboration of which was proposed in 2003;

(b) The many provisions of the Family Code which continue to discriminate against girls and to maintain severe gender discrimination; and

(c) The lack of an effective enforcement of existing legislation related to children due mainly to the lack of resources, capacities, and supervision.

11. The Committee recommends that the State party continue and strengthen its efforts to bring all its legislation, especially its Family Code in conformity with the Convention and to promptly repeal all provisions that discriminate against girls and women and negatively impact on all children, such as those related to inheritance and polygamy. The Committee encourages the State party to consider the development of a Children’s Code covering all areas of the Convention and ensure that the necessary human, financial and technical resources are effectively allocated for the implementation of child-related legislation.

Comprehensive policy and strategy

12. The Committee is concerned about various shortcomings of the National Action Plan for Children 2006-2015 (PANE) and especially that no budget was allocated for its execution. The Committee also regrets that the evaluation of the PANE conducted in 2011 has not been given proper follow-up. While considering as positive the current development of an Integrated Child Protection Policy, the Committee is concerned that this policy might not cover all areas under the Convention.

13. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the Integrated Policy on Children encompasses child protection and covers all areas under the Convention and all children with special attention to those in the most vulnerable and disadvantaged situations. The Committee also recommends that the State party develop, on the basis of this policy and in partnership with civil society organizations, appropriate strategies for its implementation and allocate sufficient human, technical and financial resources to this end.

Coordination

14. While noting the establishment of the Childhood Division within the Ministry for Solidarity, Women, the Family and Social Development and the creation of synergies between public institutions working for children within the framework of the “Pôle Social 4+4”, the Committee remains concerned that the coordination of the implementation of the Convention remains inadequate, which leads to fragmented and often incoherent child policy planning. The Committee is also concerned at the insufficient human and technical capacities and the decreasing budget allocated to the coordination Ministry, as well as the absence of designated coordination authorities at regional and local level.

15. The Committee recommends that the State party effectively and efficiently coordinate the implementation of all provisions of the Convention, including the Integrated Policy on Children, both among ministries and among national, regional and local authorities. The State party should ensure that the coordinating body is provided with the necessary human, technical and financial resources for its effective operation and establish regional and local authorities to this end.

Allocation of resources

16. The Committee notes as positive the significant public expenditure on education as well as the significant increase of the health budget from 2007 to 2012. It is however concerned that:

(a) The State party has not yet set up a specific mechanism to ensure traceability of the funds allocated to the implementation of the Convention; and

(b) The alleged fraudulent management of the National Fund for Social Security as well as the high levels of corruption negatively impact the implementation of the Convention in the State party.

17. In the light of its Day of General Discussion in 2007 on “Resources for the Rights of the Child – Responsibility of States” and with emphasis on articles 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Utilize a child right’s approach in the elaboration of the State budget by implementing a tracking system for the allocation and the use of resources for children throughout the budget. The State party should also use this tracking system for impact assessments on how investments in any sector may serve “the best interests of the child”, ensuring that the differential impact of such investment on girls and boys is measured;

(b) Conduct a comprehensive assessment of budget needs and establish transparent allocations to progressively address the disparities in indicators related to children’s rights;

(c) Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting through public dialogue, especially with children and for proper accountability of local authorities;

(d) Define strategic budgetary lines for children in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations that may require affirmative social measures and make sure that those budgetary lines are protected even in situations of economic crisis, natural disasters or other emergencies; and

(e) Take immediate measures to combat corruption and strengthen institutional capacities to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute corruption.

Independent monitoring

18. While noting the information given by the State party that a law has been drafted to reform the mandate of the National Human Rights Council with a view to creating an independent child sensitive monitoring mechanism with a clear mandate to receive and address individual complaints of alleged violations of children’s rights, the Committee is concerned by the delay in creating such a mechanism.

19. Taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent human rights institutions, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures to expeditiously adopt the law reforming the mandate of the National Human Rights Council in order to establish a specific mechanism for monitoring children’s rights that is able to receive, investigate and address complaints by children in a child-sensitive manner.

Cooperation with civil society

20. The Committee notes as positive the reinforcement of partnerships between government agencies and non-governmental organizations working in the field of children’s rights over the past few years. It is however concerned that civil society organisations are only consulted on an ad hoc basis. The Committee is also concerned that while these organizations continue to provide children in need or in marginalized and disadvantaged situations with a variety of services, the State party reduced its funding to them while its own capacity to respond to child protection needs remains inadequate. The Committee also regrets that the system of project funding prevents non-governmental organizations from undertaking sustainable actions for children.

21. The Committee encourages the State party to reinforce its cooperation framework with children’s rights organisations when elaborating, implementing and evaluating decisions and projects concerning children in line with article 12 al. 3 of the Constitution and, to this end, consider the formal establishment of a cooperation framework with civil society organisations. The Committee also recommends that the State party, while strengthening its own capacity to respond to child protection needs, ensure that civil society organizations which play an important role in this respect continue to benefit from public financial support in a manner that enables coherent and sustainable actions for children.

Children’s rights and the business sector

22. The Committee is concerned that, while tourism constitutes one of the main pillars of the State party’s economy, the State party has not yet adopted measures to protect children from violations of their rights arising from tourism activities.

23. The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 16 (2013) on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights and especially recommends that the State party:

(a) Examine and adapt its legislative framework concerning legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party´s territory, especially in the tourism industry;

(b) Establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of violations of children’s rights with a view to improving accountability and transparency;

(c) Undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism and widely disseminate the charter of honour for tourism and the World Tourism Organization global code of ethics for tourism among travel agencies and in the tourism industry; and

(d) Strengthen its international cooperation against child sex tourism through multilateral, regional and bilateral arrangements for its prevention and elimination.

C. General principles (arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12 of the Convention)

Non-discrimination

24. The Committee welcomes the statement of the State party‘s delegation that measures will promptly be taken in order for children not to be identified as born out of wedlock in their identity documents. The Committee is however concerned about:

(a) De jure and de facto discrimination against girls and children born out of wedlock, including in areas relating to personal status (e.g. family name, inheritance);

(b) The persistent disparities between different regions and between rural and urban areas;

(c) Reports that the richest 20% families concentrate 30% of the national income while the poorest 20% only represent 2% of it; and

(d) The persistent discrimination of children with disabilities.

25. The Committee urges the State party to:

(a) Expedite the amendment without delay of article 16 al 7 of Law No. 37-99 and remove from identity documents any mention that leads to the identification of children as born out of wedlock;

(b) Repeal all legal provisions especially those contained in the Family Code that discriminate against girls and children born out of wedlock; and

(c) Ensure that the Integrated Policy on Children currently being elaborated addresses as a matter of priority the situation of children in the most marginalized or disadvantaged situations, and especially the various types of discrimination suffered by girls, children with disabilities, children living in rural and remote areas.

Best interests of the child

26. While appreciating the inclusion in the Family Code of the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, the Committee regrets that the practice of early and forced child marriages, the placement of children in residential institutions as well as the recourse to custodial measures for children in conflict with the law still contradict the best interests of many children. The Committee is also concerned that this right has not been incorporated in legislation concerning children and is therefore neither applied in all administrative and judicial proceedings, nor in policies and programmes relating to children.