CRC/C/OPAC/MAR/CO/1
Below is a short summary of some of the key issues from the Committee on the Rights of the Child's 67th session concluding observations for Morocco's initial report on the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
You can find other documents related to the Committee's 67th session (including alternative reports submitted by NGOs and the Committee's concluding observations for other States reviewed in this session) on the Committee’s session page.
Regulation in force: The Committee was concerned that the recruitment and use of children in hostilities by armed forces and non-State armed groups, as well as the recruitment and use of children by private security companies, have still not been explicitly prohibited and criminalised and that the recruitment of children below the age of 15 has not been defined as a war crime in the State party’s legislation. It therefore recommends that the State party undertake a comprehensive review of its legislation in order to be fully harmonized with the principles and provisions of the Protocol.
Protection of child victims: The Committee expressed serious concern about the numerous cases of refoulement of refugee and asylum seeking children and at the absence of information on the measures in place to protect the rights of child victims of recruitment and use in armed conflict abroad. The Committee urged the State party to ensure the full respect for the fundamental principle of non refoulement, including non-rejection at frontiers.
Assistance for physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration: The Committee was concerned that insufficient attention has been paid to the early identification of refugee and asylum seeking children who may have been involved in conflicts or subject to conflict-related trauma. The Committee recommends that the State party provide systematic training on the early identification of children who may have been involved in conflict or affected by it to all professionals working with or for children.
Child abuse by peacekeepers: The Committee urged the State party to take as a matter of priority all the necessary measures to prevent its military personnel deployed as peacekeepers from abusing children and ensure that those recognised guilty are provided with penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes.