Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 6/10/2003 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 9/11/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
UNICEF estimated that 45.3 percent of children ages 6 to 14 years in Lebanon were working in 2000.[2368] Children are employed in metal works, handicraft and artisan establishments, automobile repair, carpentry, domestic service, commerce, and construction work.[2369] According to UNICEF, more than half of all children ages 6 to 14 who work are girls.[2370] Working children are more prevalent in poor, rural areas.[2371] The majority of working children ages 6 to 14 years are found in North and South Lebanon and in the Beqaa region.[2372]
Approximately 11 percent of working children are employed in agriculture.[2373] In 2000, a government assessment estimated that 25,000 children ages 7 to14 were working in tobacco cultivation.[2374] The majority of children working in tobacco cultivation are unpaid.. Children ages 10-15 years are involved in tobacco drying, harvesting, and planting; children 5 to 10 years work in seedling transplant and leaf drying; and those under 5 years assist with leaf drying.[2375] Palestinian refugee children are often forced to leave school at an early age to go to work.[2376] It is common for children to earn family income by working in the fields or begging in the streets.[2377] Non-Lebanese children constitute 10 to 20 percent of children working in the formal sector, but make up a larger share of children working on the street.[2378] There have been reported cases of child prostitution and other situations that amount to forced labor.[2379] Although Lebanon is a destination country for women trafficked from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for the purposes of involuntary domestic servitude and prostitution, there are no official government reports of child trafficking in the country.[2380]
Education is free and compulsory through the age of 12.[2381] Despite this legislation, in practice, education is not free.[2382] In the 2003-2004 school year, public school students were not exempted from paying registration fees as they had been the year before.[2383] In addition, public schools reportedly lack proper facilities, equipment, and trained teachers.[2384] Refugees are often unable to afford the tuition costs, and are compelled to withdraw their children from school and send them to work.[2385] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 102.8 percent, (104.6 percent for boys and 100.9 percent for girls), and the net primary enrollment rate was 89.8 percent (90.1 percent for boys and 89.4 percent for girls).[2386] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics 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.[2387] Although the majority of the children working in tobacco cultivation enroll in elementary school, work-related absenteeism negatively affects these children’s education and contributes to high dropout rates, preventing many from reaching the secondary level.[2388]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code of 1996 sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years.[2389] The Labor Code makes a distinction between children ages 13 and younger, and children ages 14 to 17. In the first group, children are prohibited from engaging in any kind of work. In the second group, children may be employed under special conditions relating to matters such as working hours and conditions, and type of work.[2390] 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.[2391]
There are no laws specifically prohibiting trafficking; however, abduction of a person under the age of 18 for purposes of exploitation is prohibited and punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment and a fine.[2392] 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.[2393] The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is responsible for the enforcement of child labor laws, but the Ministry lacks adequate resources to be effective.[2394] However, the MOL currently has 80 labor inspectors nationwide, an increase from 75 in the previous year.[2395] In 2004, the government caught and broke up three child prostitution rings and the perpetrators were prosecuted.[2396]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Lebanon has taken steps to improve child labor inspection and monitoring mechanisms. For the first time since its establishment in 2001, the Unit for Combating Child Labor began addressing child labor complaints this year and referring them to the appropriate agencies for action. The MOL also worked with the ILO to hold a training seminar for labor inspectors on child labor.[2397] In 2004, the government began participating in a new USD 3 million ILO-IPEC project funded by USDOL to help support a Timebound program to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.[2398] The MOL continues its collaboration with ILO-IPEC on child labor projects in Nabatiyah, Tripoli, Sin el Fil, Bourj Hammud, and Ain el-Hilweh (the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon). These programs are aimed at the prevention, rehabilitation, and withdrawal of children from the worst forms of child labor.[2399] In 2004, the government began participating in a new USD 8 million sub-regional project funded by USDOL to combat child labor through education in Lebanon and Yemen.[2400]
Recently, the Government has taken steps to counter trafficking in persons, including requiring employers to provide higher-value insurance to cover the repatriation expenses of trafficking victims and publishing booklets and brochures explaining the regulations governing migrant workers, their rights and recourses.[2401] The Surete Generale (a combination immigration and security services agency) also signed a memorandum of understanding with the CARITAS Migrants' Center and the International Catholic Migration Commission to cooperate on a USD 660,000 U.S. Government-funded safe house project for the protection of trafficking victims, and immediately began referring cases to CARITAS. In January 2004, in an effort to combat the trafficking of women into situations of forced domestic labor, the government placed a prohibition on advertisements for foreign domestic workers.[2402] In March 2004, the Government began a two-year training program to sensitize judges to the issue of trafficking and the implementation of related laws.[2403]
The World Bank is supporting a USD 56.6 million 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.[2404] During the year, the Ministry of Interior continued its efforts aimed at raising awareness on the issue of working street children. Ongoing activities include training police on approaching working street children; preparing for a study on the extent of the problem; and airing a public television ad campaign on the issue.[2405]
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