Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Lebanon (Ratification: 2003)

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Article 1 of the Convention and application of the Convention in practice. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee observes, from the Government’s information in its reports under this Convention and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the Government is implementing measures aimed at combating child labour in the country, but that it is facing significant challenges due to the fact that Lebanon has been in the grip of successive global and local crises that have had a direct impact on the social situation of all individuals, including children.

The Committee notes in this regard the Government’s indication that it does not have any recent official statistical data on the employment of children, the latest study having been conducted in 2015 by the Central Administration of Statistics, which showed that there were approximately 3.3 per cent of the 919,000 children aged 5 to 17 who were in child labour. More than a third of children in child labour were concentrated in the sector of trade (craft and related trade workers and elementary occupations). Moreover, the 2019 report on “Child labour in agriculture: The demand side”, published by UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), reveals that since the Syrian refugee crisis began, Lebanon has witnessed a rise in child labour, especially in the agricultural sector. Moreover, according to the 2023 UNICEF report entitled “Future on Hold: Lebanon’s worsening crisis is breaking children’s spirit”, more than one in ten families have been forced to send children out to work as a way of coping since the economic collapse of 2019, with this figure rising to almost one in four families amongst Syrian children.

The Committee notes that the measures taken by the Government to address child labour in the country are mostly based on two components: the National plan of action on the elimination of child labour (NAP–WFCL), which is the fundamental reference regarding the formulation of programmes and plans to combat child labour in Lebanon, and the action led by the National Committee to Combat Child Labour (NCCL). Regarding the NAP–WFCL, the Committee notes that it was launched in 2013 and extended until 2020, but that its continued implementation has not been possible due to several challenges, including the acute shortage of material resources, the security situation, and the absence of the required funding. As for the NCCL, its role is to raise awareness, coordinate efforts among government agencies, establish standard practices, and develop, enforce and recommend changes. For instance, the Government indicates that subcommittees have been established, which generally include representatives from the Ministry of Labour (MoL), the ILO and other concerned stakeholders (other ministries, organizations and social partners), to address hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector. The Government also indicates that that the MoL, in cooperation with the ILO, prepared an annual action plan for the Unit to Combat Child Labour, in the framework of the meetings of the NCCL. The aim of the plan is to standardize the concepts, programmes and projects to combat child labour and streamline efforts with all concerned international and local organizations, under the auspices of the MoL.

Finally, the Committee notes that the Government is also implementing social programmes to address child labour, the most significant of which is in partnership with UNICEF. In June 2022, UNICEF expanded the national grant for children called Haddi, which provides cash assistance to children at risk of child labour. Since Haddi’s inception as an emergency programme in 2021, it has paid out over US$43 million to vulnerable families and reached over 130,000 children. While taking due note of the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts with a view to ensuring the effective abolition of child labour. In this regard, it requests the Government to take all possible measures to ensure the extension and implementation of the NAP-WFCL and strengthen the capacity of the NCCL to continue its work towards the elimination of child labour. The Committee further requests the Government to provide more information on the annual action plan for the Unit to Combat Child Labour and whether this plan has achieved its objectives to standardize all activities and streamline efforts related to the elimination of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue its efforts to support vulnerable families through the Haddi national grant programme and to provide information on the results achieved.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to collect and share statistical data showing the full and up-to-date picture of child labour in Lebanon, in particular on the employment of children and young persons by age group and sector of the economy.