Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Lebanon has been a member of ILO-IPEC since 2000.[2521] That year, a study to assess the working conditions of child labor in tobacco cultivation in Lebanon was conducted with technical assistance from ILO-IPEC’s SIMPOC and funding from USDOL.[2522] In May 2001, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) established a National Committee to Combat Child Labor, which is charged with developing a national strategy for preventing child labor.[2523] In 2002, the Ministry of Interior and ILO-IPEC signed an agreement to implement a program to prevent and eliminate the trafficking of children and the work of street children through a multi-sector program.[2524] In 2002, IPEC, in coordination with the MOL, initiated projects in Nabatiyah, Tripoli, Sin el Fil, Bourj Hammud, and Ain el-Hilweh (the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon). These programs were aimed at the prevention, rehabilitation, and withdrawal of children from the worst forms of child labor.[2525]
The Ministry of Social Affairs through its Higher Council for Childhood coordinates efforts of governmental agencies and NGOs involved insupporting the rights of children.[2526] In 2000, with the support of UNICEF, the government’s Central Bureau of Statistics conducted a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey on the Situation of Children, of which child labor and education were essential components.[2527] In March 2000, the World Bank approved a USD 56.6 million loan to the government to support a project designed to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport, intended to benefit 150,000 primary and secondary students and 20,000 teachers.[2528]
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
In 2000, UNICEF estimated that 45.3 percent of children ages 6 to 14 years were working in Lebanon.[2529] Children are employed in metal works, handicraft and artisan establishments,[2530] as well as sales, construction work and the operation of machinery.[2531]Approximately 11 percent of working children are employed in agriculture.[2532] In 2000, national reports estimated that 25,000 children ages 7 to 14 were working in tobacco cultivation.[2533] The majority of children working in tobacco cultivation are unpaid, some entering the labor force as early as 3 years old.[2534] Reportedly, the employment of children under the age of 10 in other sectors is rare.[2535] UNICEF estimates of all child labor in Lebanon, including unregistered labor, suggest that over half of the children ages 6 to 14 who are engaged in work are girls.[2536] In poorer, more remote regions child labor is more prominent, and larger proportions of young children are economically active.[2537] Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon are more likely to work than their Lebanese counterparts.[2538]
Children are involved in prostitution in Lebanon, and sometimes find themselves in situations that amount to forced labor.[2539] There are no indications of child combatants in government armed forces, however children, including boys and girls as young as 8 years old, have been known to participate in various armed militia groups operating in the country.[2540]
In March 1998, the Government of Lebanon adopted legislation providing free and compulsory primary school education through the age of 12.[2541] Despite this legislation, education is not free. The average annual cost per student for primary education in 1997 was 271,000 Lebanese pounds (USD 176).[2542] Economically disadvantaged families, especially refugees, are often unable to afford the tuition costs for their children, and are compelled to withdraw them from school and send them to work.[2543] Lebanon enjoys one of the most advanced educational systems in the Arab world in terms of quality and gender parity. Literacy rates are the highest in the Middle Eastern region.[2544] In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate was 98.9 percent, (100.6 percent for boys and 97.2 percent for girls), and the net primary enrollment rate was 74.2 percent (74.1 percent for boys and 74.3 percent for girls).[2545] Attendance rates are not available for Lebanon. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’s participation in school.[2546]
The progress in education is due in part to the high number of private schools in Lebanon.[2547] Notwithstanding this progress, child labor negatively affects the education of working children in Lebanon.[2548] Although the majority of the children working in tobacco cultivation, for instance, enroll in elementary school, work-related absenteeism negatively affects these children and contributes to high dropout rates before reaching the secondary level.[2549] Approximately 38 percent of working children are illiterate or have abandoned primary education entirely.[2550]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code of 1996 established the minimum age for employmentat 14 years.[2551] In regard to the definition of the child and the minimum age for admission to employment, the Labor Code makes a distinction between two stages in the case of minors, children ages 13 and younger, and children ages 14 to 17. In the first stage, children are prohibited from engaging in any kind of work. In the second stage, consisting of the 14 to 17 age group, children may be employed under special conditions relating to matters such as working hours and conditions, type of work and so on.[2552] In addition, it is illegal to employ a child under the age of 15 in industrial enterprises that are harmful or detrimental to their health, or to hire youth below the age of 16 in dangerous environments that threaten their life, health or morals.[2553] There are no laws specifically prohibiting trafficking.[2554] The law allows for the establishment of licensed brothels in certain areas, providing that women working in such establishments are at least 21 years old and undergo regular medical examinations.[2555] Despite the age restrictions, the commercial sexual exploitation of children is reported to occur, and in 2002, the police identified and disbanded several child prostitution rings in Lebanon.[2556] MOL is responsible for the enforcement of child labor laws, through its labor inspectors, but the Ministry lacks adequate resources to be effective. According to MOL, the Ministry has 75 labor inspectors nationwide.[2557]
The Government of Lebanon ratified ILO Convention 138 on June 10, 2003 and ILO Convention 182 on September 11, 2001.[2558]
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