On this occasion, HRH Princess Lalla Meryem watched a film on "the 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Results, Challenges and Prospects".
Her Royal Highness also followed a presentation on the National Pact for the Child (Roadmap by 2030) made by ONDE Executive Director, Lamia Bazir.
Speaking on this occasion, Bazir stressed that the Moroccan government, parliament, civil society and private sector are now committed to a National Pact for Children by 2030, noting that "this pact is not only a road map but it also triggers a disruption in the methods related to managing children issues".
The National Pact includes operational commitments from each stakeholder and promotes new results-based governance and management tools, she said.
Afterwards, Bazir presented the "African Cities Protecting Children" toolkit to Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa.
A commitment to the National Pact for Children by 2030 was signed by Speaker of the House of Representatives (lower house), Habib El Malki, Minister of State for Human Rights and Relations with Parliament, Mustapha Ramid, Minister of Justice, Mohamed Benabdelkader, Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Said Amzazi, Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, Noureddine Boutayeb, and Minister of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality and Family, Jamila El Moussali.
This commitment was also signed by Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, Zouhir Chorfi, Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, President of the Public Prosecution Mohammed Abdennabaoui, Director General of Statistics and National Accounts at the High Commission for Planning, Mohammed Bircharef, and ONDE Executive Director, Lamia Bazir.
Afterwards, Meryem Amjoun, winner of the competition "Challenge of the Arabic reading 2018", read out the message of the parliamentary children sent to the United Nations Secretary-General, before handing it to Omar Hilale, President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who then delivered the closing remarks of these celebrations.
Hilale said, in this regard, that the forward-looking vision of HM King Mohammed VI and the personal and resolute commitment of HRH Princess Lalla Meryem have made the promotion and protection of the rights of the child a priority well before the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In a video message from UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, the UN official thanked HRH Princess Lalla Meryem for organizing the 16th National Congress of the Rights of the Child, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, commending the Sovereign’s steadfast commitment and commendable actions for the defense and promotion of the rights of the child.
During this ceremony, the United Nations Champion Generation Unlimited Prize was awarded to Her Royal Highness by the United Nations.
This UN prize was then handed to HRH Princess Lalla Meryem by Geert Cappelaere, Senior Advisor at the Office of the UNICEF Executive Director.
Her Royal Highness then posed for a souvenir photo with all the signatories of the Pact, President of the UNICEF Executive Board, Omar Hilale, Senior Advisor at the Office of the UNICEF Executive Director, Geert Cappelaere, Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi.
At the end of the ceremony, HRH Princess Lalla Meryem attended the launch of the national song for children, which was produced on this occasion and performed by renowned Moroccan artists.
Upon her arrival at Bab Jdid, which hosted the closing ceremony of the 16th National Congress of the Rights of the Child, HRH Princess Lalla Meryem reviewed a detachment of the Auxiliary Forces that made the honors, before being greeted notably by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Habib El Malki, Minister of State for Human Rights and Relations with Parliament, Mustapha Ramid, Minister of Justice, Mohamed Benabdelkader, Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Said Amzazi, Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality and Family, Jamila El Moussali and Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, Noureddine Boutayeb.