Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Lebanon (Ratification: 2001)

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the mission report of the tripartite inter-ministerial workshop carried out in February 2013 within the technical assistance programme, the Special Programme Account project (SPA mission report), the Ministry of Labour (MoL) is expected to take measures, within one year, to enhance the role of the monitoring bodies with regard to child labour, including by strengthening the capacity and expanding the reach of the labour inspection. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report. Moreover, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply extracts of the inspection reports specifying the extent and nature of violations detected involving children and young persons.

2. National Committee to Combat Child Labour (NCCL). In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s information that the NCCL formulated a National Strategy for Combating Child Labour. The Committee also noted the Government’s statement that meetings of the NCCL had stopped and that the MoL was re-examining the composition of the NCCL. It requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the continued functioning of the NCCL.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that the NCCL has been reactivated by virtue of Decree No. 5137 of 1 November 2010 and that, since its reactivation, the NCCL has held several meetings in consultation with all the relevant parties. The Government also indicates that it started to carry out a technical programme in collaboration with ILO–IPEC with a view to putting into effect the recommendations of the NCCL. Moreover, the NCCL prepared and undertook several activities, such as training its officials on its role at the national level in handling child labour issues; promoting the role of the child labour combat unit in the handling of child labour issues at the national and local levels; promoting collaboration and coordination within the various units and departments of the MoL with a view to reducing child labour; formulating a national plan of action to eliminate child labour in Lebanon by 2016; and preparing a national awareness plan in coordination with media experts. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the activities of the NCCL to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention, as well as on the results achieved.

Article 6. National plan of action on the elimination of child labour. The Committee notes that, according to the SPA mission report, a National Action Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (NAP–WFCL) by 2016 is currently being discussed among the relevant stakeholders, as a result of the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project of support to the National Action Plan to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Lebanon. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the NAP–WFCL is adopted in the near future. It requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of this plan, once adopted, and the results achieved in terms of combating the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Free basic education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the 2011 UNESCO Global Monitoring report, the net enrolment rates at the primary level passed from 91 per cent in 1999 to 90 per cent in 2008, while the gross enrolment rates passed from 77 per cent in 1999 to 82 per cent in 2008. The Committee observes that these statistics appear to show that little progress has been made in the provision of free basic education for all children.

In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to a 2012 ILO report entitled “Action against child labour in Lebanon: A mapping of policy and normative initiatives”, the National Education Strategy (NES) was developed and completed in 2010. The NES focuses on five main priority objectives, including making education available on the basis of equal opportunity, and providing quality education that contributes to building a knowledge society. The NES also includes interventions aimed at improving retention rates and educational achievement and decreasing repetition rates through the development and implementation of appropriate mechanisms, such as the development and implementation of academic, psychological and social support programmes for at risk children, the improvement of teachers’ and counsellors’ capacity to address the needs of at-risk children, and the preparation of manuals to assist them in implementing support programmes. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system, particularly by increasing the school enrolment rates at both the primary and secondary levels. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the NES, and updated statistical information on the results obtained, with its next report.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. 1. Palestinian children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the phenomenon of child labour exists on a wide scale in the camps of Palestinian refugees and the surrounding regions.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the MoL, in collaboration with the ILO, will prepare a work programme specifically designed for working Palestinian children, set within the framework of the NAP–WFCL, to be formulated and developed by 2016. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken within the work programme of the NAP–WFCL for working Palestinian children, once adopted, to protect Palestinian children from the worst forms of child labour, and on the results achieved.

2. Street children. The Committee notes that, according to the SPA mission report, the phenomenon of street children is on the rise in Lebanon. In this regard, the participants of the SPA workshop indicated that a special unit dealing with the issue of street children was established within the Ministry of the Interior in 2002 with ILO–IPEC’s assistance. However, this unit has since been disbanded, but there is a request for its reactivation. In addition, the Committee notes that according to the 2012 ILO report entitled “Action against child labour in Lebanon: A mapping of policy and normative initiatives”, there is evidence of young children, particularly street children, being exploited as child beggars by organized gangs in Lebanon. In this regard, the Draft National Strategy for the prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of street children was finalized in 2011 by the Higher Council for Childhood, the main development objective of which is to review and revise the policies, legislation and other measures to ensure better legal protection for street children. Considering that street children are at an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect these children from these worst forms. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Draft National Strategy for the prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of street children and on the results achieved, in terms of number of street children under 18 years of age who were provided with the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s information that the second phase of the ILO–IPEC project in Lebanon included the launching of activities specifically aimed at the protection of girls from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee noted that a study, entitled “Domestic Child Labour in North Lebanon” focusing on girl child workers in domestic work was conducted.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the NAP–WFCL, special attention will be afforded to girls, especially on the basis of the recommendations of the study on Domestic Child Labour in North Lebanon. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the measures taken in the framework of the NAP–WFCL, once adopted, aimed at addressing the special situation of girls, including those employed as domestic workers, and on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. The Committee noted that a Social Action Plan (SAP) was formulated to target the promotion of sustainable and equitable development while combating poverty and setting up social safety nets. The Committee noted that the SAP included cash assistance support and follow-up services to households that complied with a number of conditions, including ensuring that their children stayed in school until the end of compulsory education. The Committee also noted that the SAP included programmes focusing on the prevention of school drop-outs, by reducing the cost of education for poor households, improving ongoing school food programmes, and the provision of school supplies.

The Committee further notes that, according to the 2012 ILO report entitled “Action against child labour in Lebanon: A mapping of policy and normative initiatives”, the National Social Development Strategy for Lebanon (NSDSL) aims to establish a comprehensive social, health and educational programme to protect working children. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any notable impact of the implementation of these measures within the framework of the SAP or the NSDSL towards eliminating the worst forms of child labour.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. 1. Child trafficking. The Committee previously noted that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of 8 April 2008, expressed concern that the trafficking in women and girls was growing in Lebanon and at the lack of systematic data collection on this phenomenon (CEDAW/C/LBN/CO/3, paragraph 28).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has shared the Committee’s comments on this point with the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, and of Social Affairs, but that it has not received replies from either. The Committee once again expresses its concern at the lack of data available on the trafficking of children, and it strongly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the situation of child victims of trafficking is available. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.

2. Survey of working children in Lebanon. The Committee notes that, in the framework of the third phase of the ILO–IPEC project in Lebanon, a rapid assessment on child labour was conducted in 2011 in the North Lebanon (Tripoli and Akkar) and Bekaa governorates. A total of 823 child workers were interviewed in the North, of which 29.5 per cent were under 13 years of age. Of these, 97.3 per cent were male and 2.7 per cent were female. In the Bekaa, 192 child workers were interviewed, 36.5 per cent of which were under 13 years of age.

The Committee further notes the Government’s information that the MoL, in collaboration and in coordination with the ILO, is currently preparing a comprehensive survey of working children in Lebanon, in support of the national programmes and projects related to child labour, and which will be formulated in accordance with the results and recommendations of this survey. In coordination with the Central Statistics Department (CSD), the MoL will also set an initial timeline for the completion of the survey, in order to add it to the CSD’s work programme for 2013. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the survey on working children in Lebanon is conducted and completed as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to provide statistics and other information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of the infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the penal sanctions applied. In so far as possible, all of this information should be disaggregated by age and sex.