A high-level Moroccan delegation has visited the Parliament of Malawi to strengthen cooperation on children’s rights and youth participation, with a focus on learning from Malawi’s experience with its Children’s and Youth Parliament.
The team, led by Professor Ghizlane Benjelloun, Vice President of the National Observatory for the Rights of the Child (ONDE), met with Malawi’s Clerk of Parliament and other officials. Professor Benjelloun, who works under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, the sister of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, said the visit reflects a shared commitment to advancing children’s rights across Africa.
“We are so excited to meet the Clerk of Parliament here in Malawi, because we share the same challenges,” said Professor Benjelloun.
“We would like to exchange experiences and strengthen South-South cooperation. Our key concerns include violence against children, early marriage, and ensuring children can exercise their right to participation,” added Professor Benjelloun.
She also revealed that Morocco will host the African Children’s Forum this November, and extended an invitation to Malawi’s representatives to join the platform aimed at amplifying children’s voices across the continent.
Accompanying the delegation was Mohammed Amine Lamgari, a 15-year-old member of Morocco’s Children’s Parliament. He explained that their mission was both to share Morocco’s experiences and to learn from Malawi’s active youth parliament.
“Over the past 25 years, more than 4,000 children have participated in the Moroccan Children’s Parliament,” said Lamgari. “Thus it is a platform for young people aged 10 to 16 to make their voices heard by decision-makers. We are here because Malawi has a very effective Children’s Parliament, and we want to learn from its successes,” said Lamgari.
The Assistant Clerk of Parliament, Moffat Makande, welcomed the visit, emphasising that it builds on long-standing relations between Malawi and Morocco, including parliamentary exchanges dating back to 2014.
“Although Malawi has not implemented its Youth Parliament for the past six years due to financial constraints, we registered notable successes between 2012 and 2019,” said Makande.
“One of the major achievements was the amendment of the Constitution to raise the minimum marriage age from 16 to 18, a reform in which youth parliamentarians played a key role,” explained Makande.
He added that Malawi hopes to resume the Youth Parliament once resources are available, and intends to adopt Morocco’s practice of keeping a database of former youth parliamentarians to strengthen continuity.
The visit marks a renewed effort to foster cooperation between African countries in promoting children’s rights, participation, and leadership.
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