The Regional Human Rights Commission (CRDH) of the Casablanca-Settat Region organized a reflection workshop on ways to implement a protective strategy designed for actors working with children in street situations in Casablanca, Morocco. The event took place on Thursday, November 22, at the CRDH’s headquarters in Casablanca.

Institutional and civil society stakeholders participated in this workshop.

Mrs. Saadia Waddah, CRDH President, launched the opening session of this workshop.

Mr. Khalid Hanfioui, Head of the Child Rights Department at the CNDH, delivered an interactive presentation, highlighting the methodology underlying this strategy, which is based on a human rights philosophy, including children's rights. 

He underlined the importance of harmonizing concepts and developing a unified understanding of key terms such as the "best interests of the child," "children in street situations," and "child dignity," among others.

Mr. Hanfioui noted that any strategy seeking to address this issue requires the involvement of children in shaping and evaluating policies related to their situations. He also emphasized that such a strategy must guarantee non-discrimination, ensure protection as a binding responsibility for institutions, and create a protective environment extending to families, institutions, and civil society.
 

Participants underscored the importance of this rights-based protective strategy. They stressed the need to enhance convergence and synergy among various stakeholders involved in addressing the issue in Casablanca. 

Furthermore, participants brought to the fore the importance of coordination among civil society actors, as well as between civil society and institutional actors, to exchange experiences, coordinate efforts, and develop working mechanisms to combat and prevent the issue of children in street situations.

The event concluded with the establishment of a Working Group (WG) composed of both institutional and civil society actors. The CRDH will host this WG, which will hold regular meetings and be tasked with monitoring, following up, and developing operational mechanisms to protect the rights of children in street situations. The WG will also contribute to the implementation of the integrated territorial policy and monitor the effectiveness of human rights in territorial policies, etc.

This workshop is part of a series of sessions hosted by the CRDH’s headquarters, following its thematic report on children in street situations, presented on December 26, 2023 and which was developed with a wide range of stakeholders concerned with this issue.