Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 9:45 PM
Rabat – The provisions of international humanitarian law and UN resolutions on the protection of children have not deterred the parties to the conflict in several hotbeds of tension in the world from committing serious violations, said Wednesday in Rabat , the President of the National Commission for International Humanitarian Law (CNDIH), Ms. Farida El Khamlichi.
Speaking at the opening of the international symposium on “The protection of children in humanitarian crises”, organized by the National Commission for International Humanitarian Law, Ms. El Khamlichi underlined that “if the rules and provisions of international humanitarian law and UN resolutions on the protection of children aim to ensure the greatest possible protection for children during armed conflicts, this has not deterred the parties to the conflict in several hotbeds of tension in the world from committing serious violations , whose available mechanisms are still unable to indict its perpetrators”.
The president of the CNDIH focused on what is happening on the African continent, which is the scene of “serious violations of the rules for the protection of children in armed conflicts, according to the media which talk about the recruitment of children and the violation from their childhood by subjecting them to military training and involving them in hostile operations in the Sahel, East Africa and in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, under the supervision of armed groups such as Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Sahel, al-Chabab and the Polisario militia, who do not care about international laws and do not take into account the international community”.
Ms. El Khamlichi stressed that this event aims to draw attention to unacceptable practices on the humanitarian and legal levels indulged in by armies or armed groups such as Boko Haram or the Polisario, noting that the international community is urgently called upon to interrogate those organizations and militias that publicly challenge it and expose them to the punishments they deserve”.
With regard to Morocco, the President of the CNDIH noted that “the Kingdom of Morocco, anxious under the Constitution to promote international humanitarian law and to contribute to its development, has taken many initiatives that go hand in hand with the aspirations of the international community which seeks to protect the child and keep him away from anything that undermines child innocence in armed conflicts”.
For her part, the Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, Aawatif Hayar, noted that this international symposium constitutes added value with a view to consolidating the dimension of human rights, enhancing the status of the child, protect his supreme interest and explore concrete perspectives “to face these inhuman and heinous crimes against children, including the children imprisoned and enrolled in the Tindouf camps”.
She stressed that caring for and protecting the conditions of children in Morocco is a “rooted trend” which is reflected in the great attention given by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to children’s issues, as well as the very important indications contained in the Constitution of the Kingdom relating to this subject, in addition to what has been mentioned in the various successive government programs, as well as public policies and national programs to advance the situation of children in the areas of health, education, schooling, protection, participation and entertainment, which are defined by the mobilization and full involvement of the various government sectors, national institutions and civil society associations in their activation with the involvement of families and children themselves.
Ms. Hayar explained that Morocco is always keen to engage in the international dynamic to advance, defend and activate the rights of the child, noting that the Kingdom has clearly adhered to the UN human rights body. , the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1993 and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict of 2002.
In this respect, she underlined that the examination of the initial report on the optional protocol concerning the involvement of children in armed conflicts showed that Morocco has an important legal arsenal in the field of the protection of children’s rights. ‘child. “Morocco has placed the protection of children among its priorities and has endeavored to include this protection in its various legislations via a legal arsenal which regulates the process of enlistment and military services in accordance with international law.
For her part, the President of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Amina Bouayach, said that there is an international consensus that the conspiracy of children, whether compulsory or voluntary in armed and unarmed conflicts , constitutes a serious violation of international law and is assimilated to war crimes, arguing that Security Council resolutions have repeatedly condemned the recruitment and manipulation of children.
Noting that the protection of children during crises “has not yet reached the required level”, she noted that this issue “places the child in a situation which permanently exposes him to grave violations”.
To the extent that this protection remains relative or totally absent in a number of conflict zones, non-State armed movements are not totally succumbed to it, she added, noting that the responsibility of the international community should not stop at the protection of children during crises and armed conflicts, but should rather be renewed and developed on the occasion of the consolidation of peace, because it constitutes a transitional framework for rearranging priorities in political construction , economic and social.
“For NGOs and national human rights institutions to advance, build and support global coalitions to end grave violations against children, there is a need for more deterrent measures aimed at preventing children from being involved and to exploit their vulnerabilities in conflicts,” concluded Ms. Bouayach.
For her part, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, considered that conflicts are the most important humanitarian crises that the world knows, explaining that these conflicts affect civilians and children.
She warned of the large number of violations against children which “remains concerning”, noting that the recruitment of children and the denial of humanitarian aid are the most significant violations recorded during this year.
The UN official underlined that the challenges facing the protection of children living in conflict zones “remain unacceptable in the eyes of international humanitarian law and international law relating to human rights and the rights of the child”, noting that the fragility of children has worsened, depriving them of access to the assistance they need.
This international symposium aims to help draw national and international attention to the worst forms of exploitation of children in areas of armed conflict, in the light of international humanitarian law, and to publicize the efforts made by the United Nations and various international organizations to protect children during armed conflict.
It also aims to share good practices in the protection of children during armed conflicts and humanitarian crises, as well as to draw attention to the degraded conditions of children in armed conflicts in Africa, their military recruitment in the Sahel, in the Tindouf camps and in East Africa, by armed groups including Boko Haram, Al Qaeda in the Sahel and the Polisario.