Taroudant, Morocco- Official figures have confirmed that the number of children without a legal identity in Morocco climbed to half a million between 2003 and 2009, according to the Judge of Juvenile Affairs of Salé, as reported by the Moroccan daily Assabah in its Tuesday issue.
Speaking at a meeting organized by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Children from Crime last week, the judge said that the current number of children without an identity is now, however, much larger given the intervening five years since these statistics.
According to the same source, Rachida Ait Hamy, President of the Association, raised concerns about the continuing disegard of what she called "ghost children" who are deprived of their identity and legal existence despite their real existence.
Ait Hamy added that this social issue is dangerous and called for all public institutions and civil society to intervene and work within the framework of a participatory and integrated strategy to improve the situation.
Edited by Elisabeth Myers
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