Mr. Mounir Bensaleh, Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), delivered an opening statement at the study day entitled “Phenomenon of Child Exploitation through Begging: What Protection?” on Friday 7 June 2024, in Rabat, Morocco. This event was organized by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) /National Child Redress Mechanism.

Within this context, CNDH Secretary-General emphasized that child exploitation through begging is a complex phenomenon with far-reaching repercussions on other rights, including education and health... Thus, the CNDH’s focus on this issue resulted from monitoring this phenomenon through handling complaints and using automated monitoring.

Mr. Bensalah affirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped a new vision for the State, transitioning from the “Regulating State” (Etat Régulateur) to the “Social State” (Etat Social). The latter emphasized social protection, healthcare, and support for vulnerable groups. He also highlighted the importance of scientific research in monitoring and addressing the phenomenon along with the media’s role in raising awareness about its repercussions.

Mr. Abdelkarim Alaazani, Coordinator of the National Child Redress Mechanism, underscored that despite the collective efforts of stakeholders, the complaints received by the Mechanism and its automatic monitoring indicate a continuous increase in the exploitation of children through begging. He described this issue as among the most severe forms of child exploitation, including child labor and human trafficking.

Representatives of relevant governmental institutions and sectors, academic specialists and NGOs working in child protection participated in this event.

They addressed child begging issue through approaches focusing mainly on understanding this phenomenon in terms of causes and repercussions, examining the integrated public policy for child protection, harmonization of the national protective legislative system with the international normative framework, convergence in terms of approach/intervention and access to rehabilitation programs for children.