On 30 May 2019, the Secretary-General appointed Dr. Najat Maalla M'jid (Morocco) as his Special Representative on Violence against Children. Dr. Maalla M'jid took her position on 1st July 2019.
Dr. M'jid, a medical doctor in pediatrics, has over the last three decades devoted her life to the promotion and protection of children’s rights. She was Head of the Paediatric Department and Director of the Hay Hassani Mother-Child hospital in Casablanca.
Dr. M'jid was a member of the Moroccan National Council on Human Rights and the founder of the non-governmental organization Bayti, the first program addressing the situation of children living and working in the streets of Morocco
The panel aims to understand and shed light on the complex root causes of child labour and its consequences in terms of perpetuating the cycle of poverty and situations of child labour.