Morocco, international player in fight against online child exploitation & sexual abuse- Public Prosecutor

Morocco’s national legal instruments position the country as a reliable partner and an international player in the fight against child exploitation and online sexual abuse, the King’s Prosecutor General and President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, El Hassan Daki, said on Tuesday in Rabat.

Speaking at a conference on “Protecting children from online sexual exploitation and abuse,” organized by the Higher Institute of Magistrates in partnership with the Council of Europe, as part of the European Union-funded “CyberSouth” and “MA-JUST” programs, Daki said that “the criminal law provisions within the national legal instruments, which cover all forms of child abuse, including sexual abuse, and impose severe penalties in this regard, attest to Morocco’s role as a reliable partner and an international actor in the fight against this type of crime.”

In a speech read on his behalf by Ouafae Zouidi, Head of the Judicial Cooperation and Human Rights Division at the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Daki emphasized that ethical considerations in managing digital platforms are essential for preventing, responding to, and combating such practices.

He highlighted the importance of privacy policies, taking into account user categories, and providing the necessary information to facilitate investigations, all of which are crucial for the success of any initiative aimed at curbing this phenomenon.

The Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office also ensures the support of prosecutors in cases involving child victims of crime, including sexual abuse, while working to collect data on this phenomenon to serve as an analytical basis for guiding criminal policy implementation, he added.

The fight against this scourge is a constitutional, legal, and humanitarian commitment that requires the pooling of efforts and the rationalization of initiatives, in line with the High Vision and Royal Solicitude regarding child protection issues, he stressed.

For his part, the Director General of the Higher Institute of the Judiciary, Abdelhnine Touzani, noted that the institute is responsibly and seriously committed to this national approach under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, through the development of appropriate judicial training programs.

In a speech delivered on his behalf by Samir El Ghalmi, Director of the Cooperation, Studies, Research, and Publication Division, Touzani stressed that the institute has organized scientific meetings on children’s rights while promoting research and studies in this field, following a vision aimed at strengthening knowledge, skills, and values related to children’s rights, in accordance with international charters and the Kingdom’s Constitution.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, Mounir Al Mountassir Billah, reviewed the Council’s efforts to strengthen the child protection system by enhancing the judicial efficiency of bodies responsible for handling such cases and monitoring their activities through dedicated administrative structures. This institution has engaged in several national programs and plans related to child protection, aiming to ensure comprehensive child protection

Other speakers emphasized Morocco’s active engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, particularly with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to which Morocco has submitted four reports so far, and the kingdom’s confidence that it is necessary to establish an integrated protection and legal framework, to support the international debate on combating violence and sexual exploitation in cyberspace and protecting children’s privacy in line with international human rights standards.