Morocco: Strides towards elimination of child labor by 2030

The integrated action plan of the national roadmap for the eradication of child labor in Morocco by 2030, was adopted, Monday in Rabat, during a national tripartite seminar organized under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Younes Sekkouri.

The action plan, adopted as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be filed with the secretariat of the International 8.7 Alliance, enabling the Kingdom to confirm its status as a pioneering country in the fight against child labor.

The action plan has two objectives, namely the eradication of child labor under the age of 15, with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector, and the progressive elimination of the employment of minors aged 16 to 18 in hazardous work by 2030.

Speaking on the occasion, Sekkouri said that the plan was built around three strategic axes, namely accelerating the prevention of child labor, through the fight against poverty, dropping out of school, the acquisition of professional skills, and information and awareness-raising.

For her part, Laura Palatini, Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration, representing Nathalie Fustier, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, highlighted the results achieved by Morocco in the fight against child labor, noting that the validation of this roadmap constitutes a very important step for Morocco in its process of eliminating child labor.

A report issued lately by Morocco’s Higher Commission for Planning (HCP) revealed that 127,000 children are still victims of child labor, although Morocco has made significant strides in addressing the issue and the number of children engaged in economic activities is showing a consistent decline the practice.

HCP data indicates that the prevalence of child labor varies between rural and urban areas, with rates standing at 3.3% in rural areas (104,000 children) and 0.5% (23,000 children) in urban areas.

The data shows that boys are disproportionately affected by child labor, making up 81.5% of children in the labor market.

Child labor strongly correlates with school dropout rates, the HCP report points out. The alarming statistics show that 85% of children in the labor market have dropped out of school, while 2% have never had the chance to attend.

Over the years, there has been a notable decline in the number of child laborers. Compared to 2021, the rate dropped by 14%, and by 48.6% compared to 2017.