Following the tragic earthquake that struck the Kingdom of Morocco on 8 September 2023, causing heavy loss of life and material damage in many regions of the Kingdom, the National Commission for the Coordination of Measures to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Human Beings – CNCLT has taken note of a series of posts, messages, photos and conversations exchanged on social media in the context of campaigns and solidarity initiatives for the victims of the earthquake, which contain content harmful to the rights of affected children and women and liable to incite offences or crimes punishable under Law No. 27.14 on trafficking in human beings, exposing their authors to severe penalties.
Pursuant to Article 7 of the aforementioned law, which sets out the powers of the CNCLT, in particular with regard to detecting manifestations of trafficking in human beings and proposing various forms of coordination and cooperation between the competent authorities, the National Commission has referred the cases detected to the competent security and judicial authorities, which are empowered to take the necessary measures and steps.
To this end, the National Commission calls on all citizens to report any suspicious cases that may be regarded as cases of trafficking in human beings to the toll-free number 0800004747, made available to the public by the CNCLT for reporting potential victims of trafficking in human beings to the Commission.
It should be noted that this toll-free number is exclusively dedicated to reporting potential cases of trafficking in human beings. Accordingly, in order to ensure the optimal management of this mechanism made available to the general public and to enable immediate and appropriate care for genuine potential victims, any complaint or report concerning other facts or cases should be addressed to the competent authorities.
Furthermore, reports and complaints concerning suspicious cases that may be regarded as potential cases of trafficking in human beings may also be submitted to the judicial and security authorities, in particular the units providing care for women and children victims of violence, in accordance with the legal provisions in force.
In this regard, all reports of suspected misappropriation of aid intended for affected victims do not fall within the competence of the CNCLT and must therefore be notified to the competent authorities through the usual reporting channels.
Finally, while reiterating its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this tragedy and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured, men and women alike, the Commission commends all the efforts made by the competent authorities and the solidarity initiatives of the various actors, and affirms its commitment to detecting and referring all manifestations of the crime of trafficking in human beings and to coordinating and cooperating in this regard with the competent authorities, in accordance with the powers conferred upon it.
