Address of Speaker of the House of Representatives at Inauguration of the National Session of the Children’s Parliament (2024)

Dear daughters and sons, members of the Children’s Parliament, 

Esteemed Ministers, 

Honorable members of the Board of the House of Representatives, 

Honorable Chairpersons of the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

I am honored to declare open the National Session of the Children’s Parliament for the 2023-2025 Term, held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist and glorify him. 

I would first like to welcome the child parliamentarians representing the various provinces of the Kingdom and laud the good organization and work that have enabled this Parliament to hold regular sessions since its launch in 1999 under the effective presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, President of the National Observatory for Children's Rights.

This Session commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the start of this Parliament. It also takes place during the year where Moroccans celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the accession of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, to the Throne of his glorious ancestors. 

We, as Moroccans, have to take pride in what Morocco has achieved during a quarter of a century of the reign of His Majesty, may Allah assist him, in terms of successes and reforms, at the center of which have figured the questions of childhood and the preservation of children’s rights through enacting legislations and guaranteeing access to social and cultural services, thus mirroring the peculiar attention granted by His Majesty the King to human development, social integration, and childhood. 

Dear daughters and sons, 

The Children’s Parliament embodies the peculiar Moroccan creativity through its organization, philosophy, and noble objectives. It is a school and a framework for training on democracy, dialogue, institutional debate, and citizen participation. It is not a mere simulation of the national Parliament enacted by the Constitution, but also a platform that sheds light on central questions and interests of children, as it enables this category to discuss the particular public policies and national laws that concern them.

Dear daughters and sons, 

Throughout its national and regional sessions, the Children’s Parliament has accumulated numerous practices and significant expertise in exercising the public debate and sectorial policies evaluation, particularly the ones concerning children. 

I welcome you once again and inform you that the order of business of this sitting includes questions to five Ministries, to whom the child parliamentarians will address ten questions, namely: 

The Ministry of National Education, Primary Schooling, and Sports, with two questions on: 

• Reform of the national education sector;
• Protection of pupils in school settings. 

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection, with two questions on:

• Mental health of children and the related therapeutic services; 
• Preventive health. 

The Ministry of Economic Integration, Small Enterprises, Employment, and Skills, with two questions on:

• Youth enterprises; 
• Integration of people with special needs.

The Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, with two questions on:

• Culture amongst youth; 
• Child protection centers. 

The Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family, with two questions on:  

• The possibility of enacting a special code or agency for children; 
• Child protection policies.