Ms. Saadia Ouaddah, Chair of the Regional Human Rights Commission for the Casablanca-Settat region, reaffirmed the National Human Rights Council’s (CNDH) strong belief that participation in all its forms is a key gateway for children and young people to fully enjoy their rights. She stressed the Council’s commitment to institutionalizing and operationalizing this principle, as it is one of the four fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She added that “the Council’s participation in the exhibition provides an opportunity to raise participation as a topic for dialogue and exchange on issues related to the engagement of young people in public life, through seminars, activities, and meetings centered on children and youth.”

She made these remarks during her intervention at the interactive panel discussion on “Public Policies and Youth Participation,” organized by the CNDH in partnership with the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences in Mohammedia on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at the faculty, as part of its participation in the second edition of the International Children’s and Youth Book Fair.

For his part, Mr. Mustapha Najmi, Director of the CNDH Promotion Directorate, highlighted the Council’s commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership with academic institutions in order to promote the values of citizenship, consolidate a culture of human rights in both thought and practice, encourage initiatives that foster a human rights culture within universities, and support scientific research in the fields of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

 

In the same context, Mr. SaId Khoumri, Director of the Public Law and Human Rights Laboratory at the faculty, emphasized the importance of the CNDH's reports, advisory opinions, and field studies. He called on students and researchers to consult the Council’s publications and make use of them in their research, considering them a comprehensive reference for data and information on the state of human rights in Morocco.

Mr. Omar Cherkaoui, professor of constitutional law and political science at the Mohammedia Faculty, expressed the faculty’s readiness to cooperate with the Council on all issues related to human rights, in order to contribute to enriching academic research and studies in the field, fostering knowledge exchange, broadening students’ intellectual horizons, strengthening their skills, and raising their awareness of human rights-related challenges.

This meeting included interactive workshops that gave participating youth the opportunity to share their views and aspirations, and to formulate a set of recommendations and proposals mainly focused on the place of youth in public policies, the economic, social, and cultural rights of young people, mechanisms of civic participation, and the role of youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.