Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
December 24 , 2005

Morocco: 'Hidden' Child Workers Face Abuse
Child labour in Morocco: Exploited girl domestics face ill-treatment.
Solidarity AIDS telethon collects more than MAD 20 million.
Bush authorizes start of US-Morocco trade pact.
Morocco sees strong growth.
Morocco: Moody's sees 2005 as "test year".
IMF applauds Morocco's subscription to Special Data Dissemination Standard
Toll free number for women victims of violence.
Some 6.5 million tons of kitchen wastes produced yearly in Morocco.
Morocco 'can do better' to achieve up to 8% growth, WB official.
Foundation Mohammed V stock worth MAD12.56 Mn.
'Emergence' Strategy to cut trade deficit by 50%, increase GDP.

Morocco: 'Hidden' Child Workers Face Abuse
20 Dec 2005 14:49:10 GMT Source: Human Rights Watch Rabat, Morocco, December 20, 2005)

Tens of thousands of girls working as domestics in Morocco face physical and psychological abuse as well as economic exploitation, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Moroccan law denies these children basic labor rights, and the authorities rarely punish employers who abuse them. Tens of thousands of girls working as domestics in Morocco face physical and psychological abuse as well as economic exploitation, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Moroccan law denies these children basic labor rights, and the authorities rarely punish employers who abuse them. The 60-page report, "Inside the Home, Outside the Law: Abuse of Child Domestic Workers in Morocco," documents cases of girls as young as five working 100 or more hours per week, without rest breaks or days off, for as little as six and a half Moroccan dirhams (about 70 U.S. cents) a day.

Current and former child domestics describe frequent physical and verbal abuse, denial of education and of adequate food and medical care, and sexual harassment by employers or their relatives. Some domestics said that employers forced them to work against their will by beating them, locking them indoors, or refusing to pay those who wanted to quit. "There is a myth that these girls are improving themselves by working," said Clarisa Bencomo, children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The reality is that far too many girls end up suffering lasting physical and psychological harm."

Young and often illiterate, child domestics frequently lack the skills and the opportunities to seek help in leaving abusive workplaces. Hidden away in private homes, most do not attend school, rarely go out except for brief errands, and have only infrequent contact with their families. Some girls are brave enough or desperate enough to risk running away. But many more put up with abuse because they lack money and knowledge about how to return home, fear employers' threats of violence or denunciation to police, or fear getting lost or attacked if they try to make it home on their own.

Morocco's Labor Code does not regulate domestic work, and labor inspectors are not authorized to enter private homes to investigate violations of the legal ban on employment of children under 15. Police, prosecutors, and judges rarely enforce Penal Code protections against abuse in cases involving child domestics. Government child protection programs rarely prioritize child domestic labor, are poorly coordinated and lack sufficient funds for implementation. Few programs actively remove children from the worst forms of child labor, including domestic labor, and those that do exist have been largely pilot programs with limited scope and success.

Human Rights Watch called on the Moroccan government to enforce the legal minimum age of 15 for all child workers, ensure domestic workers the same rights as other workers, eliminate the worst forms of child domestic labor, and sanction employers and labor recruiters who abuse children.

Select testimonies from child domestics quoted in the report:
If something happened-if I broke something or did something badly-they would beat me with a shoe or a belt on any part of my body. I couldn't leave the house-they would lock the door when they left... Both the husband and the wife hit me. My family saw me twice in the year that I worked. They came to visit me at the house but the employer sat with us during the visit and told me not to say anything bad or she would beat me more. When my mother came the last time to visit I told her I wouldn't stay at that house anymore. I said, "Either I go with you or I will run away or kill myself." -Rasha A., 14, describing her first job, at age ten

If something broke, like dishes or a glass, they would tell me they would take the money out of my pay and they beat me. They used an electric cord... Both the husband and the wife were mean to me. The husband would complain if I didn't wash the clothes well or didn't bring the breakfast fast enough. He used bad language too. -Najat Z., 11, describing a recent job

[My employer] was a [government] employee with a husband and a four-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old child. They knew I had no place to go and they said, "Consider us to be like your parents." They asked me what I wanted for a salary and I didn't know what to say so she said 200 dirham per month [about U.S.$22]. I had to take the girl to the nursery and watch the smaller child and do all the housework-cooking, hand washing clothes, cleaning the whole house. -Shadia A., describing her second job, at 15.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/659d5f0e6639a233a6b802b1178a445a.htm  
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Child labour in Morocco: Exploited girl domestics face ill-treatment.

Tens of thousands of girls working as domestics in Morocco face physical and psychological abuse as well as economic exploitation, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released on Tuesday. Titled "Inside the Home, Outside the Law: Abuse of Child Domestic Workers in Morocco," the report states cases of girls of five working, continuously, up to 100 hours a week, sometimes more, for not more than MAD 6.5 a day.

"There is a myth that these girls are improving themselves by working," said Clarisa Bencomo, children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The reality is that far too many girls end up suffering lasting physical and psychological harm." These Child domestics said they suffer "frequent physical and verbal abuse, denial of education and of adequate food and medical care, and sexual harassment by employers or their relatives," HRW said in a release. Some domestics said they get beaten and locked indoors if they refuse to work.

HRW urged the Moroccan government to "enforce the legal minimum age of 15 for all child workers, ensure domestic workers the same rights as other workers, eliminate the worst forms of child domestic labor, and sanction employers and labor recruiters who abuse children." Earlier, The Moroccan National Institution for Solidarity with Women in Crisis, known by its French acronym INSAF, had launched a campaign against child labour, themed "Child labour kills. It kills their childhood." "Our campaign comes as part of our fight against child labour. But, we are aware that we have to save child by child if we want to eradicate this phenomenon," said Meriem Othmani, the president of the INSAF. Through this campaign INSAF intends to save exploited children, especially little girls, who are being increasingly used as maids and ill-treated.

"Our priority is little girls employed as maids. First, we are targeting maily the regions of Taza and Marrakech, where INSAF's members are currently active," Othmani explained.

For this operation, INSAF has circularised 70,000 posters denouncing child labour, and more than two million others will be distributed later in different cities. Set up in 1999, INSAF is a non profit association, comprising doctors, lawyers, architects, and other professionals. According to a joint study carried out recently by the Moroccan Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the World Bank, some 600,000 children work in Morocco. This represents 11% of the Kingdom's 5.5 million children.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=11666 
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Solidarity AIDS telethon collects more than MAD 20 million.
By Kaoutar Tbatou. 12/10/2005

The Moroccan Association against AIDS (l'Association Marocaine de Lutte contre le Sida) (ALCS), in cooperation with the second Moroccan channel 2M, has organised a telethon to raise funds in favour of VHI carriers in Morocco. The telethon has succeeded in collecting a record sum exceeding MAD 20 million. The event, held as part of the association's campaign entitled "Sidaction Maroc 2005" organised from Dec.2-15, was broadcast live Friday evening on both Moroccan TV channels, Moroccan satellite channels 2M Maroc and Al Maghribya, and 2M Radio Station.

The telethon included debates on various issues related to the disease, with the participation of Moroccan and foreign guests active in the field of fighting AIDS, experts, and music, cinema, and sports stars. Among the stars present in the event were actors Rachid El Wali, Mona Fettou
(Morocco) and Yahya Fakharani (Egypt); singers Samira Said, Naima Samih (Morocco) and Marwan Khury (Lebanon); and Moroccan comedian Gad El Maleh. The comedian later joined the operators in the call centre who were receiving donation promises in order to incite people to call.

The evening show also included statements from people suffering from AIDS. But the telethon was marked by the presence of Fatima, a HIV-positive who courageously accepted to take part in the telethon live in the studio without concealing her identity. This was an unprecedented event in Morocco, where fear of shame and discrimination still haunts all those infected. Fatima did not complain about her lack of financial means to treat her illness. Instead of talking about the disease and medicines, she stressed the victims' psychological suffering caused by discrimination. "I came here to call on people to change the harsh way they treat AIDS victims," said Fatima who, in addition to her loss of sight, lost her family's affection and support.

"People suffering from AIDS need medicines, this is true. But they need love as well," said Pierre Berger, president of Sidaction France. Fatima's presence also proved women's courage in facing the disease. The majority of witnesses who related their personal experience with AIDS were women. Other female witnesses further showed how infected women suffer in society. One of them got the disease from her husband who later died, leaving her with three children, also suffering from the disease. "We're living in constant fear of death and of society. My relatives let me down after they discovered my illness," she said, disappointed at being blamed and punished for a sin she did not commit. "I did not reach for AIDS. AIDS came to my house," she said.

The debate on Islam's view of the disease and of HIV positives also supported the idea that AIDS victims should not be rejected by society. Ahmed Abbadi, Director of Islamic Affaires in the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs, said that Islam has always called on Muslims to visit ill people and support them. He stressed that being a HIV carrier has nothing to do with sinfulness. Abbadi also refuted the idea that those urging young people to use condoms to avoid infection are encouraging extra-marital sexual relationships. He confirmed the religious scholars' unanimous consensus that those who can not avoid illegal sexual relationships should, at least, use condoms to prevent the spread of the disease.

Throughout the evening show, a free phone number was made available to receive donation promises. Thousands of calls coming from Morocco and abroad were received by 100 operators working in the call centre. Donations were received from individuals, as well as companies, laboratories, banks, and associations from Morocco and abroad. According to Hakima Himmich, president of ALCS, 58% of the sum collected will be used to buy medicines, 29% will be devoted to the maintenance of health centres, and 13% for prevention means. Besides awareness and fund raising, the telethon transmitted a message of hope. "The presence of AIDS in Morocco and Africa should not be a reason to lose hope. Instead, this should push us to mobilise all our efforts to face the disease," said Bernard Kouchner, founder of the associations Medecins sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=11458 
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Bush authorizes start of US-Morocco trade pact.
Reuters Thursday, December 22, 2005; 6:43 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters)

U.S. President George W. Bush signed an order on Thursday to bring a free trade agreement with Morocco into force on January 1, the White House said. "Morocco is a close friend and ally of the United States, and this (free trade agreement) sends a powerful signal that the United States is firmly committed to supporting tolerant and open Muslim societies," the White House said. Under terms of the pact, completed in March 2004, the United States and Morocco agreed not to use agricultural export subsidies in each others' markets. Morocco agreed to provide preferential market access for all U.S. agricultural products by phasing out tariffs in installments on a product-specific basis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122201499.html 
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Morocco sees strong growth.
RABAT:

Morocco's parliament endorsed a 2006 budget which envisages a tripling of economic growth to 5.4 per cent as recent rains help farming to recover from a drought that withered cereal crops this year. The budget deficit should slow to 3.2pc of gross domestic product from 3.5pc this year, according to the text of the budget. The good rains so far this year have rekinkled hopes that next year's cereals harvest may come in higher than the average of six million tonnes for the latest decade. The 166.5 billion dirhams ($18.05 billion) budget for 2006, up 4.4pc from this year's, projects a 2pc inflation rate from an estimated 1.5pc this year.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=130696&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=28278 
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Morocco: Moody's sees 2005 as "test year".

In its annual report on Morocco, Moody's Investors Service says the country's Ba1 foreign-currency and local-currency ratings and stable outlooks reflect fiscal rigidities within government finance, and the economy's reliance on agriculture for a substantial part of the kingdom's GDP.
"The ratio of debt to GDP has declined from 79.2% in 1979 to 66.4% in 2004," said Moody's Vice President Sara Bertin-Levecq, author of the report. "Over the medium term, we expect the ratio to drop further." The ratio of general government debt to government revenue also dropped over the same period. Nevertheless, she pointed out that Morocco's ratios are above those of other countries within the Ba1 range.

Morocco's additional credit strengths include a young population, an ongoing process of democratization, and an active government debt management strategy as well as an expansion of non-agricultural GDP with increases in manufacturing and services, says the Moody's report.
"For 2005, agricultural output should be affected by limited rains, and thus will be a test year to determine if the development of manufacturing and services are sufficient to compensate for the drop in agricultural output," said Ms. Bertin-Levecq.

She said the government has instituted a series of legal framework reforms that are likely to have long-lasting effect on the Moroccan economy and also influence the business culture in a positive way. "Over the medium term, if the wave of reforms remains unabated, we would likely see non-agricultural GDP growth pick up along with the economy being less subject to variations in agriculture output," said Ms. Bertin-Levecq.
The rating agency's report, "Morocco: 2005 Credit Analysis," is a yearly update to the markets and is not a rating action.
Albawaba http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Morocco/192936 
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IMF applauds Morocco's subscription to Special Data Dissemination Standard

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) applauded on Wednesday Morocco's subscription to the Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). Robert W. Edwards, Director of the IMF Statistics Department, pointed out, in a release published on IMF's official website, that Morocco's subscription to the SDDS is a major step for Moroccan official statistics and for its data users. Edwards added that this subscription "represents a strong commitment to transparency and a significant achievement in implementing internationally accepted good practices in statistics."

Morocco became the word's 62nd subscriber to the SDDS and the third in the Middle East on Dec. 15, 2005. Established by the IMF in March 1996, the SDDS is part of the Fund's transparency policy which is intended to guide members in providing their economic and financial data to the public.

Earlier, in a seminar organised by the IMF in the Moroccan parliament on macroeconomic policy, the Fund's External Communication and Parliamentary Outreach, Graham Hacche, stressed that the IMF is no longer a secretive organisation. "To work effectively and avoid emerging market crises - like those of Asia and Mexico (1994-1998) - the IMF has adopted the tradition of transparency that is a broader public engagement, through providing markets with timely and accurate information," Hacche explained. He added that transparency can also provide markets with information about policy intentions and actions, and reinforce credible and sustainable policy making. "In fact, research at the IMF shows that greater transparency lowers the cost at which countries can borrow in international markets. Transparency about policies can also help build public support for them," the IMF's official concluded.

Subscription to the SDDS, which is voluntary, aims at disseminating timely and comprehensive statistics, in order to contribute to the pursuit of sound macroeconomic policies and improve the functioning of financial markets. SDDS members bind themselves to respect the standards and to provide information about its data dissemination practices, which will be made public on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB).
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=5&id=11686 
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Toll free number for women victims of violence.
Rabat, Dec. 23

The Moroccan Government has for the first time launched a toll free number (080008888) to provide judiciary advice and protection for women and girls victims of violence. The initiative is part of a national strategy to combat violence against women, drawn up by the State Secretariat in charge of Family, Children and Disabled in collaboration with several departments and NGOs to assist the victims. According to a recent survey, domestic violence is increasing in Morocco where more than 60 per cent of violence cases concern married women aged 20 to 49 and 59.8 pc of cases are the consequence of disputes over child custody, divorce and alimony.

Counseling centers will be provided by the Secretariat of State in coordination with the concerned governmental departments, including the Justice and Health Ministries, the Police and the Royal Gendarmerie. The aim is to promote judicial and psychological care for women and girls victims of violence. To tackle the issue of violence against women, the Moroccan Government ratified a number of international conventions banning domestic violence against women and improved the status of women thanks to a new Family Code enforced in January 2004.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box2/toll_free_number_for/view 
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Some 6.5 million tons of kitchen wastes produced yearly in Morocco.
Rabat, Dec. 23

About 11,000 tons of kitchen wastes are produced every day in Morocco in urban areas, and 4,000 tons in rural areas, i.e. a total of
6.5 million tons per year. According to a presentation document of the bill relating to kitchen wastes, adopted Friday, by the House of Advisors, industrial wastes have significantly increased to stand at 975,000 tons, including 120,000 considered as hazardous industrial wastes.
As to medical wastes, the document forwards the volume of 120,000 tons a year.

The bill sketches the legislative, organizational and financial framework for a rational, modern and efficient management of this field, while taking account of the requirements of sustainable development and of the protection of the environment. The bill, which was presented by the environment ministry, also prescribes a number of measures to compel the concerned sectors to set up the required equipment, build adapted infrastructures and train their staff to guarantee the adequate management of wastes.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/some_6.5_million_ton/view 
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Morocco 'can do better' to achieve up to 8% growth, WB official.
Rabat, Dec. 20

Morocco "can do better" to join the group of developing countries that achieve a growth rate of 7% or 8% said World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, François Bourguignon. According to the expert, who was speaking in a talk-show broadcast Monday by the national TV "TVM," "Morocco has kicked off the new millennium with a relatively satisfactory growth rate, which is slightly over 4.5%," underlining that this rate is not enough and that the country can do better. "This is the kind of growth (7% or 8%) that is sought and required to bridge part of the gap between Morocco and its northern neighbors," said Bourguignon.

Deeming that Morocco is today in a better situation than in the 90s when "growth was very slow," the economist underlined, however, that "2005 will not be a good year mainly for weather reasons, but the progress in comparison to last decade is significant."
Bourguignon underlined that the reforms introduced to boost the economic growth "were needed by not sufficient as they did not concern the most scathing constraints in the Moroccan economy." He concluded that Morocco needs to encourage the birth and the expansion of businesses in fields other than the traditional ones.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_economy/morocco__can_do_bett/view 
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Foundation Mohammed V stock worth MAD12.56 Mn.
Casablanca, Dec. 23

Mohammed V foundation for Solidarity has a national stock worth MAD 12.56 Mn (USD 1.39 Mn) dedicated to emergency aid and urgent assistance in the aftermath of disasters or catastrophes. King Mohammed VI visited on Friday the Casablanca-based depot, also destined to support impoverished populations through a network of regional and local associations that are partners of Mohammed V Foundation.Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation was established in 1999 to help, in collaboration with other social actors, fight poverty through the distribution of food, clothes, Medicare and shelter, particularly in disaster-hit regions.

The foundation contributes during summer holidays in operations aiming at facilitating the travel of hundreds of thousands of Moroccan expatriates in hosting and transit countries and at home. The Foundation earmarked since its inception in 2004, MAD2.17 billion (USD 241 million) to various humanitarian, social, medical and sustainable development actions. In addition, it assists associations and extends in-kind donations to social centers and schools in rural areas.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box1/foundation_mohammed/view 
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'Emergence' Strategy to cut trade deficit by 50%, increase GDP.
Casablanca, Dec. 21

Some 500,000 job opportunities will be created in Morocco thanks to a New National Industrial Strategy presented, here Wednesday, by Prime Minister Driss Jettou to King Mohammed VI. The ten-year strategy will create 440,000 job opportunities and increase the Gross Domestic Product up by 1.6%, i.e. USD 10 million per year, and reduce the trade deficit by 50%.

Baptized "Emergence", the Strategy, which was examined by the government in consultation with the professionals from various industrial branches, aims to upgrade and modernize the sector and improve its competitiveness on the basis of a precise scientific diagnosis that determined the weak and strong points of Morocco's industrial fabric. It is based on two essential pillars: a competitive modernization of the existing industrial fabric and targeting the growth motors notably export-oriented ones, which will represent 70% of the industrial growth in 2015, and through opting initially for 8 growth motors: offshoring, car industry, aeronautics, electronics, agri-food industry, sea products, textile and handicraft.

The new industrial policy is also meant to promote and develop a sector that represents only 18% of the GDP and 8% of the job opportunities. The industrial sector which constitutes 52% of Moroccan exports is dominated by agri-food industry and textile (50% of industrial GDP).
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/emergence__strategy/view 
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