Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Damascus (Agenzia Fides) – The Syrian government and international agencies are focusing efforts on tackling child labour, amid concerns that rates in the country are rising, especially among 1.3 million families of small-farmers affected by the severe drought that has left them in extreme poverty. Thus, the need for sending even their own young children to work in order to contribute to the family income. Other factors that worsen the phenomenon are the traditions and the school system. Syria has signed the ILO (International Labor Organization) conventions on child labor and has compulsory education until age 15. But until now, few practical measures were in place, such as preventing school drop-outs. According to the ILO, globally 215 million children are engaged in child labor. But in Syria and the Middle East region as a whole, statistics on child labor are patchy.
A UNICEF study in 2006 found 4 percent of children aged 5-14 in Syria worked, but that figure is likely to have increased, say experts. Additionally, the presence of impoverished Iraqi refugees has added to the pool of working children. Set against the short-term financial benefits for the families of having a child earning a wage, however small, are the long-term implications for the child, and country. The Syrian government and UN agencies are responding with workshops, studies to collect data, and programs to keep children in school. In a note from the ILO Regional Office for Arab States, it says that “countries that have significantly reduced child labor have also tackled poverty in a decisive way...Governments can effectively tackle child labor by tackling family poverty, ensuring that adults have decent jobs and that children receive a good quality education.” (AP) (Agenzia Fides 8/11/2010)
