Najat Maalla M’jid was appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children on May 30th 2019. 

As a high level global independent advocate, Najat Maalla M’jid promotes the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children in all settings, including online and offline, the justice setting, in the home, in schools, in institutional care, in detention centres, in the workplace and in the community. She acts as a bridge builder in all regions, and across sectors and settings where violence against children may occur.

Najat Maalla 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. Najat Maalla M’jid is a member of the Moroccan National Council on Human Rights and founder of the non-governmental organisation Bayti, the first programme addressing the situation of children living and working in the streets of Morocco. From 2008 to 2014, she served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

Najat Maalla M’jid also worked as an Expert-Consultant for national and international projects, strategies and policies relating to child rights’ promotion and protection. She has participated in the development of national policies on the protection of the child, and has worked with several governments, non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations. She also has vast experience as a lecturer, in Moroccan and international universities, on child rights’ protection, promotion, programming and monitoring.

A member of several regional and international non-governmental organisations and net-works working for children’s rights, Najat Maalla M’jid has also been involved in the training of social workers, law enforcement, teachers, judges, and medical staff.

Najat Maalla M’jid holds a Doctorate in general medicine from the University of Rabat, a specialization in paediatrics and neonatology from the University of Bordeaux II and a Master of Human Rights from the Human Rights Institute, Geneva. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honours for her strong commitment to protecting the rights of the child.