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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, although section 3 of the “Dahir” issuing Act No. 1.73.282 of 21 May 1974 concerning the suppression of drug addiction and the protection of drug addicts prohibits anyone from facilitating the use of drugs by persons under 21 years of age, it does not prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs, as required by Article 3(c) of the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not supply any additional information in this respect. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, is prohibited in the national legislation.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Monitoring mechanisms and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, in the context of the ILO–IPEC project “Combating child labour in Morocco by creating a suitable environment nationwide and providing for direct intervention against the worst forms of child labour in rural areas”, a number of training sessions were organized to strengthen the capacity of the various players involved in combating child labour, including 330 labour inspectors and 43 monitoring agents recently designated as focal points. One of the tasks of the focal points is to monitor establishments employing children, to coordinate their actions with those of all the players involved in combating child labour, to collect information on child labour and to draft periodic reports and send them to the central service.

The Committee notes the information to the effect that an evaluation of the activities of the focal points indicates that 874 observations were recorded and 451 violations established during 2009. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the nature and extent of the violations reported that involve children engaged in the worst forms of child labour, including extracts from reports on the work of the focal points responsible for combating child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, according to the February 2007 report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education (A/HRC/4/29/Add.2, paragraphs 8 and 9), the implementation of public policies and strategies, particularly regarding the spread and quality of education, represents one of the major obstacles to effective and full realization of the right to education in the country. It noted that, in order to tackle such an urgent problem, Morocco has set up a number of bodies, including the Directorate of Non-Formal Education (ENF), which operates according to two methods and programmes: the “Second Chance” school programme and the programme to combat school drop-out. However, the Committee noted that, despite a conspicuous effort to extend school education, including the implementation of the Emergency Education Plan 2009–12, more than one million children between 8 and 15 years of age either do not attend school or have dropped out before completing compulsory schooling. In addition, according to the 2008 UNESCO report entitled “Education for All by 2015: Will we make it?”, although the school attendance rate in Morocco has increased significantly (20 per cent), the repetition rate in the first year of primary school is among the highest in the region, reaching 16 per cent. The UNESCO report also indicates that the gross enrolment rate in lower secondary school (children between 12 and 15 years of age in Morocco) is 65 per cent, and the gross enrolment rate for upper secondary school (adolescents between 15 and 18 years of age in Morocco) is only 35 per cent.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information to the effect that, as part of the project to support the schooling of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, 280,000 families have received financial support. Moreover, a new TISSIR programme was established in 2009, which aims to reduce the school drop-out rate and encourage disadvantaged families, particularly in rural areas, to send their children to school. Under this programme, the families of 87,000 children have received a monthly financial allowance to enable them to keep their children in school. According to the Government, this experiment has had a positive effect on the school attendance rate, with a 25.8 per cent increase in the enrolment rate for pupils in the first year of primary school, a 58.2 per cent decrease in the school absence rate and a 71.4 per cent reduction in the school drop-out rate. In the light of these results, the Government has decided to continue and extend the programme in order to increase the number of pupils benefiting from it to 277,000 in 2010. The Committee also notes that, according to the document on the results achieved by the Moroccan Government in combating child labour communicated by the Government representative during the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2010, nearly 6,600 children were reintegrated in formal education and vocational training during 2009. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system by increasing the rate of school attendance, particularly in lower secondary school, and by reducing the school drop-out rate in order to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, paying particular attention to girls and to children living in rural areas. It requests the Government to continue to supply up-to-date statistics on the school attendance and school drop-out rates in the primary sector and also on the numbers of children benefiting from the TISSIR programme.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. The Committee previously noted that, according to the February 2007 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education (A/HRC/4/29/Add.2, paragraph 10), there are 600,000 street children, the great majority of whom do not attend school. It noted that child protection units have been set up as part of the national strategy for the reintegration and protection of street children. It also noted that the Ministry of Social Development, Family Affairs and Solidarity (MDFS) has developed, as part of the implementation of the National Plan of Action for Children (2006–15) (PANE), a national programme for the reintegration of street children (INDIMAJ), consisting of three parts: a legal section, an awareness-raising and advocacy section and an institutional capacity-building section. It also noted that the MDFS was planning to conduct a survey on the situation of street children during 2010.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that three child protection units were established in 2007 and these are operating in Marrakesh, Casablanca and Tangier. It notes that, by the end of 2009, the child protection unit services had been used by 196 children (82 girls and 144 boys) in Marrakesh and by 287 children (141 girls and 146 boys) in Casablanca. Furthermore, according to the Government, a new child protection unit was due to be set up in Meknès in June 2010. The Committee also notes that the MDFS has launched an evaluation process for the child protection units, the final objective of which is to create a development plan for the protection units in terms of strategy, targeting, human resources and intersectoral coordination in order to create a network of coverage at local level. The Committee further notes that, according to information available on the MDFS website (www.social.gouv.ma), there are plans to establish 16 child protection units and 16 “Samu sociaux” (social assistance units) by 2012. Given that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts with respect to the identification, withdrawal and reintegration of street children. It requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken and results achieved in the context of the INDIMAJ programme and to continue to supply information on the results achieved by the work of the child protection units in terms of the number of children who have benefited from these measures. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to send a copy of the conclusions of the evaluation process for the child protection units conducted by the MDFS. It also requests it to send a copy of the results of the survey on the situation of street children conducted in 2010.

Article 8. Poverty reduction. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that a National Human Development Initiative (INDH) was launched in May 2005. The initiative encompasses three major programmes, aimed at the reduction of rural poverty, social exclusion in urban areas and precarious living conditions. The planned actions are concerned with: (i) support for access to basic infrastructure, neighbourhood services and social facilities; (ii) boosting the local economic fabric through income-generating activities; (iii) support for social, cultural and sports activities and events; and (iv) the strengthening of governance and local capacities. Since the launch of the programme, 16,000 projects have been implemented for more than 4 million recipients. The Committee notes that, according to the document on the results achieved by the Moroccan Government in combating child labour, communicated by the Government representative during the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2010, the INDH targets disadvantaged persons, including street children exposed to work at an early age. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on the impact of projects relating to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute towards breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for eliminating the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply information on the impact of projects established under the INDH relating to the elimination of child labour, particularly as regards street children.