2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Morocco

Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
Ratified Convention 138     1/06/2000	✓
Ratified Convention 182     1/26/2001	✓
ILO-IPEC Member	✓
National Plan for Children
National Child Labor Action Plan	✓
Sector Action Plans (Agriculture and Herding, Industry, Metal and Auto Work, Construction, Hospitality, Food Production, and the Informal Sector)	✓

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

An estimated 13.2 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were counted as working in Morocco in 1998/1999. Approximately 13.5 percent of all boys 7 to 14 were working compared to 12.8 percent of girls in the same age group. The majority of working children were found in the agricultural sector (60.6 percent), followed by other sectors (21.1 percent), services (10.1 percent), and manufacturing (8.2 percent).³¹⁶¹ Of the children who work in the agricultural sector, the vast majority work on family farms, picking fruit and vegetables or as shepherds, and do not attend school.³¹⁶² Children in rural areas are reportedly six times more likely to be working than those in urban areas.³¹⁶³ Children also work in the industrial and artisanal sectors in the production of leather goods, textiles, carpets, garments, pottery, and other light manufacturing activities.³¹⁶⁴ A large number of children work as junior artisans in the handicraft industry, many of them working as apprentices before they reach 12 years of age and under substandard health and safety conditions.³¹⁶⁵ Child labor is one of many problems associated with poverty. In 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, less than 2 percent of the population in Morocco were living on less than USD 1 a day.³¹⁶⁶

Morocco is a country of destination for children trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Asia and serves as a transit and origin point for children trafficked to Europe for the purposes of forced labor, drug trafficking, and commercial sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked internally for exploitation as child domestic workers and beggars, and for prostitution.³¹⁶⁷ In urban areas, many girls working as domestic servants can be found in situations of unregulated "adoptive servitude," in which girls from rural areas are "sold" by their parents, trafficked, and "adopted" by wealthy urban families to work in their homes.³¹⁶⁸ Children are also "rented" out by their parents or other relatives to beg.³¹⁶⁹

Thousands of street children live and work in Morocco's urban centers. Street children in Morocco engage in diverse forms of work including selling cigarettes, begging, shining shoes, washing and polishing cars, and other miscellaneous occupations.³¹⁷⁰ Street children are predominantly boys, but girls, commonly former household maids who have fled abusive employers, are also seen on the street in increasing numbers. Street children are vulnerable to sexual, physical and substance abuse and to being forced into illicit activities such as prostitution, drug-selling or theft in order to collect money for gang leaders.³¹⁷¹ There are official reports of child prostitution in the cities of Agadir, Casablanca, Meknès, Tangier, Marrakech, and Rabat. Child commercial sexual exploitation involves both boys and girls,³¹⁷² and is perpetrated by Moroccan nationals and, to a lesser extent, by foreigners, particularly from Western countries and the Gulf States. Commercial sex tourism involving children is acknowledged by government and NGO sources, most notably in the cities of Tangier and Marrakech.³¹⁷³ Isolated cases of child pornography have been reported in the country; however, the Minister of Human Rights and the Parliamentary Commission on Social Affairs have acknowledged the problem but indicate that it goes mostly undetected.³¹⁷⁴

Education is free and compulsory for children ages 6 to 15 years.³¹⁷⁵ In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 110 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 90 percent.³¹⁷⁶ Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, 71.6 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school.³¹⁷⁷ As of 2001, 81 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.³¹⁷⁸ Rural girls often do not complete primary school.³¹⁷⁹ In 2004, the government began to take steps to enforce the 2000 school attendance law,³¹⁸⁰ and as many as 140,000 children under the age of 15 are enrolled in government remedial and vocational education programs.³¹⁸¹

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years.³¹⁸² The minimum age restriction applies to the industrial, commercial, and agricultural sectors and also extends to children working in apprenticeships and family enterprises.³¹⁸³ According to the Labor Code, children under the age of 16 are prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day, which includes at least a 1 hour break.³¹⁸⁴ Children under the age of 16 are not permitted to work at night between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in nonagricultural work or between 8 p.m. and 5 p.m. in agricultural activities.³¹⁸⁵ It is prohibited to employ children under the age of 18 in stone quarries or underground work carried out in mines.³¹⁸⁶ Employers are prohibited from permitting workers to use products or substances, equipment, or machinery deemed potentially hazardous for their health or safety and from performing activities that pose an extreme danger to them, exceed their capacities, or result in the breach of public morals.³¹⁸⁷ In January 2005, the Government of Morocco adopted a list of hazardous work prohibited for minors under the age of 18 years.³¹⁸⁸

The worst forms of child labor may be prosecuted under different statutes in Morocco. The Labor Code and Criminal Code prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but these provisions have been difficult to enforce in the informal sector and private homes where most of this labor occurs.³¹⁸⁹ A 1993 law provides protection for abandoned children in Morocco. According to this law, persons younger than 18 and unable to support themselves economically are identified as abandoned if their parents are unknown, unable to be located, or incompetent of assuming a parental role. These children are then considered eligible for adoption, and adoptive parents are entitled to a stipend from the government.³¹⁹⁰ There has been some concern that girls are being fostered at higher rates than boys and that this is facilitating the practice of "adoptive servitude."³¹⁹¹ The new Family Code, which was published and took effect in February 2004, protects and gives rights to illegitimate and abandoned children who have often found themselves in desperate situations leading to child labor.³¹⁹² The minimum age for conscription into government armed forces has been raised from 18 to 20 years.³¹⁹³ Since 1999, the Government of Morocco has submitted to the ILO a list or an equivalent document identifying the types of work that it has determined are harmful to the health, safety or morals of children under Convention 182 or Convention 138.³¹⁹⁴

The prostitution of children, child trafficking, corruption of minors, and involvement of children in pornography are prohibited under the Criminal Code. Soliciting for the purposes of prostitution, as well as aiding, protecting, or profiting from the prostitution of others, are also banned by the Criminal Code.³¹⁹⁵ In January 2004, revisions were made to the Criminal Code, which made sexual abuse a crime and increased penalties against those who hire children under age 18 for purposes of sexual exploitation. The Criminal Code revisions raised penalties against those involved in child sexual exploitation, child pornography, child sex tourism and abusive child labor. Anyone who incites a minor under age 18 to commit a vice or who contributes to the corruption of a minor is subject to a prison sentence of 2 to 10 years, and a fine of up to 2,000,000 Dirhams (USD 221,925). The same penalties apply in cases where an attempt was made to commit such offenses or when part of the offense was committed outside Morocco.³¹⁹⁶

The Immigration and Emigration Act prohibits trafficking of persons through the levying of fines and prison sentences against individuals involved in or failing to prevent trafficking in persons, including government officials.³¹⁹⁷ There are several other statutes under which traffickers can be prosecuted, including laws on kidnapping, forced prostitution, and coercion. According to Articles 472-478 of the Criminal Code, any person who uses violence, threats, or fraud to abduct (or attempt to abduct) a minor under 18 years of age or facilitate the abduction of a minor may be imprisoned for up to 5 to 10 years. If the minor is under the age of 12, the sentence is doubled from 10 to 20 years.³¹⁹⁸ According to the U.S. Department of State, law enforcement agencies actively investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers.³¹⁹⁹

The Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs, and Solidarity is responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations.³²⁰⁰ The Labor Code provides for legal sanctions against employers who recruit children under the age of 15, and employers who hire children under age 15 may be punished with a fine of 25,000 to 30,000 Dirhams (USD 2,774 to 3,329).³²⁰¹ Legal remedies to enforce child labor laws include criminal penalties, civil fines, and withdrawal or suspension of one or more civil, national, or family rights, including denial of legal residence in the country for a period of 5 to 10 years.³²⁰² The new Labor Code and amendments have enabled inspectors and the police to bring charges against employers of children under age 15 in all sectors, including apprenticed children and family businesses.³²⁰³ Labor inspectors can now also take action against abusive employers of child maids under age 15, but only a few employers of child maids have been prosecuted.³²⁰⁴ The Government has also passed laws which prohibit beggary that exploits children and the buying and selling of child brides. The legal age for girls to marry is 18.³²⁰⁵

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The Government of Morocco has put in place a number of action programs toward the achievement of its 2005-2015 action plan to eliminate child labor.³²⁰⁶ The government has established national and sectoral action plans to combat child labor, especially its worst forms.³²⁰⁷ The focus of the national plan includes improving implementation and raising awareness of child labor laws, and improving basic education. Sectoral plans target children in agriculture and herding, the industrial sector (carpets and stitching), metal and auto work, construction, the hospitality industry, and food production, as well as children working in the informal sector,³²⁰⁸ such as street children and children subjected to sexual exploitation.³²⁰⁹ In March 2005, the Minister of Labor and Vocational Training sent a letter to provincial governors urging them to implement child labor legislation.³²¹⁰

In addition to the new legal provisions to protect children, the Government has committed 37.6 million Dirhams (USD 4.2 million) to a joint program of the Ministries of Employment, Health, and Social Welfare, through which the ministries will join with private organizations to offer vocational training, job placement and micro-credits to assist adult beggars and the parents of child beggars.³²¹¹ In May 2005, King Mohammed VI launched the National Initiative for Human Development, which involves replacing shantytowns with new housing units, creating employment, improving education and expanding access to education, and developing literacy programs. Children at risk, including child laborers, are among the priority populations to be served by the Initiative.³²¹²

In December 2004, the Government of Morocco collaborated with UNICEF to organize the second Arab-African Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and the Secretariat of State for the Family, Solidarity and Social Action is coordinating a comprehensive national action plan to combat all forms of sexual exploitation of children in Morocco.³²¹³ In cooperation with UNICEF, the Ministry of Justice also provides ongoing training to juvenile judges to increase their awareness of child rights and the associated legal provisions. The National Observatory on the Rights of the Child has established a reception center for abused children, with a 24-hour hotline and staff to provide medical, psychological and social counseling.³²¹⁴

In April 2005, the Government of Morocco, ILO-IPEC, UNICEF and the World Bank jointly convened a national seminar in Rabat on "How Best to Integrate the Fight against Child Labor in the Context of Social Development." The Minister of Employment, who gave the opening remarks, was joined by the Secretaries of State for Literacy and Non-formal Education and for Family, Children and the Disabled. The government officials re-emphasized their commitment to combating child labor, raising awareness of the negative consequences of child labor, and helping rural families increase their incomes.³²¹⁵

The Secretariat of State for the Family, Solidarity and Social Action in collaboration with NGOs and local authorities, is implementing pilot programs in support of the draft National Action Plan for the rehabilitation and reintegration of street children. Centers to promote the reintegration of street children have been established in Tangier, Tetouan and Casablanca. The Ministry of Interior has also carried out a number of activities on behalf of street children and has worked with the U.S. Department of State to improve its anti-trafficking operations.³²¹⁶

The Government of Morocco is participating in two USDOL-funded projects to eliminate child labor and provide educational opportunities for working children. The first USDOL-funded effort is a USD 3 million ADROS project executed by Management Systems International that aims to eliminate the practice of selling and hiring child domestic workers and to create educational opportunities for child laborers and those vulnerable to child labor.³²¹⁷ The second USDOL-funded effort in the amount of USD 2 million is an ILO-IPEC child labor project in Morocco, which aims to strengthen national efforts against the worst forms of child labor in Morocco and to remove and prevent children from work in rural areas of the country.³²¹⁸ In 2005, ILO-IPEC received additional funds from other donors to support the activities relating to this program.³²¹⁹

The Ministry of National Education and Youth (MNEY) implements programs for out-of-school children under its Non-Formal Education Program.³²²⁰ In 2004, USAID began funding a USD 30 million project entitled "Advancing Learning and Employability for a Better Future" (ALEF), which aims to strengthen the quality of Morocco's workforce by building the capacity of the educational system to provide young people with skills needed in a changing labor market. Specifically, the project focuses on increasing access to middle schools, especially for girls in rural areas and access to vocational training in the fields of tourism and agriculture.³²²¹

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3161 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, October 7, 2005. Reliable data on the worst forms of child labor are especially difficult to collect given the often hidden or illegal nature of the worst forms, such as the use of children in the illegal drug trade, prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. As a result, statistics and information on children's work in general are reported in this section. Such statistics and information may or may not include the worst forms of child labor. For more information on the definition of working children and other indicators used in this report, please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section.

3162 The region where child labor is most prevalent is Doukala, an agricultural province south of Casablanca, where an estimated 26.1 percent of children, ages 7 to 14, are working the field and tending livestock. See Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, prepared by ILO, UNICEF, and World Bank, pursuant to Report prepared for the UCW Project, March 2003, 2, 20; available from http://www.ucw-project.org/pdf/publications/report_morocco_draft.pdf. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, May 4, 2005. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005. See also Zakia Abdennebi and Souhail Karam, Child Labour in Morocco Falling but Action Needed, Reuters, [online] April 26, 2005 [cited April 28, 2005]; available from http://www.reuters.co.za/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp:426e6e7e:35d7a6753d2… 00448.

3163 Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 2.

3164 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004: Morocco, Washington, D.C., February 28, 2005, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41728.htm. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties, CRC/C/OPSA/MAR/1, pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Optional Protocal to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography: Morocco, Initial reports of States parties due in 2004, July 15, 2005, para. 137. Sale, a suburb of Rabat, is considered the region where child labor in textile production is most common. See ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco by creating an enabling national environment and developing direct action against worst forms of child labour in rural areas, technical progress report, Geneva, March 15, 2005, 7.

3165 Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 26. See also U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 6d.

3166 World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 [CD-ROM], Washington, D.C., 2005.

3167 A growing number of girls are trafficked to El-Hajeb in the Middle Atlas where they are forced into prostitution. See U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report – 2005: Morocco, Washington, D.C., June 3, 2005; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46614.htm. See also ECPAT International, Morocco, in ECPAT International, [database online] 2004 [cited December 16, 2005], Child Prostitution; available from http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_databas….

3168 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. See also WTO General Council Review of Trade Policies, Internationally-Recognised Core Labour Standards in Morocco, prepared by ICFTU, June 16-18, 2003, 8; available from http://www.icftu.org/www/pdf/cls_morocco_2003.pdf. See also Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 2.

3169 According to a 2004 survey conducted by the Moroccan League for the Protection of Children, 15 percent of children surveyed below the age of 7 had been offered by their parents to serve as props of sympathy for adult beggars. Some were rented for as little as 50 dirhams per week (USD 5.50). See U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, January 20, 2005.

3170 Kingdom of Morocco, Ministry in Charge of the Condition of Women, the Protection of the Family, Childhood, and the Integration of the Handicapped, Synthèse d'une étude preliminaire sur les enfants de la rue, Rabat, October 2001. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, para. 137.

3171 Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 29-30.

3172 Ibid., 28-29. See also U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005.

3173 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. See also Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 29. See also U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report – 2005: Morocco. See also ECPAT International, Morocco, Child Prostitution.

3174 Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 29.

3175 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. See also U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Background Note: Morocco, [online] July 2005 [cited December 16, 2005]; available from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm.

3176 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=51 (Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios, Primary). For an explanation of gross primary enrollment rates that are greater than 100 percent, please see the definition of gross primary enrollment rates in the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

3177 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

3178 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=55 (School life expectancy, % of repeaters, survival rates).

3179 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 24, 2004.

3180 Ibid.

3181 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5.

3182 The new Labor Code went into effect in June 2004. See Royal Decree No.1.03.194 of September 11, 2003, concerning the promulgation of Law no. 65-99 on the Labor Code, (June 6), Article 143. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 24, 2004.

3183 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003: Morocco, Washington, D.C., February 25, 2004, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27934.htm. See also Understanding Children's Work (UCW), Understanding Children's Work in Morocco, 38.

3184 Labor Code, Articles 184 and 188.

3185 Ibid., Article 172.

3186 Ibid., Articles 179-180.

3187 Ibid., Articles 181 and 287.

3188 It is prohibited to employ minors whose age is less than 18 years in the following occupations: cleaning and repair of mechanical equipment; use of dangerous machinery; welding; erecting frames of buildings or homes; roof work; demolition; and glassworks. See Decree No.682.0.2 of December 29, 2004, relating to the regulation of works prohibited to minors less than 18 years, women and handicapped wage-earners, (January 3, 2005). See also ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco, technical progress report, Geneva, June 17, 2005, Annex B, page 2 and Annex 1. See also Management Systems International, technical progress report. Project Adros. Combating Child Labor Through Education in Morocco, Rabat, March 31, 2005, 1.

3189 Labor Code, Article 588. See also the Criminal Code, Article467 as cited in UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, Articles 36 and 40. See also U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 6c. See U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 24, 2004.

3190 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record of the 882nd Meeting, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties (continued): Second Periodic Report of Morocco (continued), CRC/C/SR/.882, pursuant to Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, July 16, 2003, paras. 18-19; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/8e3b9… 8.pdf.

3191 Ibid., para. 43.

3192 Management Systems International, Project Adros, technical progress report, March 2004, 3-4.

3193 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties: Morocco, Second periodic reports of States parties due in 2000, CRC/C/93/Add.3, pursuant to Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, February 12, 2003, paras. 160-161. See also Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Child Soldiers Global Report 2004: Morocco, London, November 17, 2004; available from http://www.child-soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=948.

3194 ILO-IPEC official, email communication to USDOL official, November 14, 2005.

3195 ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), Report of the Committee of Experts on Morocco's Application of ILO Convention No. 182, Direct Request, CEACR 2004/75th Session, pursuant to Article 22 of the ILO Constitution, 2004; available from http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/appl/index.cfm?lang…. See also ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), Report of the Committee of Experts on Morocco's Application of ILO Convention No. 182, Observation, CEACR 2004/75th Session, pursuant to Article 22 of the ILO Constitution, 2004; available from http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/appl/index.cfm?lang….

3196 Articles 497-504 as amended by Act No. 2403 on reform of the Criminal Code. See UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, paras.23-37, U.S. Consulate-Casablanca, electronic communication to USDOL official, March 25, 2004. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, January 8, 2004. For currency conversion, see FXConverter, in Oanda.com, [online] [cited December 16, 2005]; available from http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic.

3197 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. This law went into effect on November 20, 2003 as Law 02-03. See U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, December 30, 2003.

3198 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5. See also ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), Report of the Committee of Experts, Direct Request. See also ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), Report of the Committee of Experts, Observation.

3199 U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report – 2005: Morocco. See also U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 5.

3200 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 6d.

3201 Labor Code, Article 151. For currency conversion, see FXConverter.

3202 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports: Morocco, para. 647.

3203 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Morocco, Section 6d. See also Labor Code, Article 533.

3204 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 24, 2004. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, June 27, 2005. See also ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco, technical progress report, Geneva, August 14, 2005, 2.

3205 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, January 20, 2005. See also U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005.

3206 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005.

3207 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, October 2001. See also Kingdom of Morocco, Plans national et sectoriels d'action de la lutte contre le travail des enfants au Maroc, October 1999.

3208 Kingdom of Morocco, Plans national et sectoriels d'action, 5-9.

3209 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, paras. 98-99 and 128-129.

3210 Management Systems International, Project Adros: Combating Child Labor Through Education in Morocco, technical progress report, Rabat, September 30, 2005, 3.

3211 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, January 20, 2005. For currency conversion, see FXConverter.

3212 In support of this initiative, the annual budget for the education sector was raised to USD 3.7 billion. See U.S. Consulate Casablanca, reporting, August 8, 2005. See also ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco, technical progress report, August 14, 2005, 2.

3213 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, paras. 14-15, 99.

3214 Ibid., paras. 115, 116, and 119.

3215 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, May 2, 2005.

3216 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports, under Article 12: Morocco, paras. 129-133. See also U.S. Department of State – Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, FY04 United States Government-Funded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Programs, 2004 [cited December 16, 2005]; available from http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/tr2004/agreportappendix1.htm.

3217 U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, September 16, 2005. See also Management Systems International, Adros: Combating Child Labor through Education in Morocco, project document, Rabat, August 6, 2003, 2-3.

3218 The project targets the Gharb region near Rabat and the Massa-Sousa-Daraa region in the environs of Agadir. See U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 24, 2004. See also ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco by creating an enabling national environment and developing direct action against worst forms of child labour in rural areas, project document, Geneva, September 10, 2003, 1-2.

3219 ILO-IPEC, Combating child labour in Morocco, technical progress report, August 14, 2005, 3.

3220 Since 1997, the Ministry's non-formal education program has given remedial instruction to hundreds of thousands of children and is working to adapt the curriculum to make it more relevant to the needs of older students. See U.S. Consulate – Casablanca, reporting, August 19, 2003.

3221 Academy for Educational Development (AED), ALEF: Advancing Learning and Employability for a Better Future (Morocco), [online] [cited December 16, 2005], 4; available from http://www.aed.org/Projects/ALEF_Morocco.cfm?renderforprint=1. See also Management Systems International, Project Adros, technical progress report, March 2005.