FAO, ILO and LAS examine policy recommendations to combat child labour in agriculture in the Arab region

28 January 2018, Cairo, Egypt – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) participated today in a consultation meeting organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) – in the League of Arab States (LAS) – to discuss the draft findings of the regional study for “Child Labour in the Arab States: Profile and Magnitude”.

The study overviews the different aspects and magnitude of child labor in the Arab region. Child labor has become a critical issue due to the aftermath of the Syrian crisis, which has increased the phenomenon in different sectors, including agriculture. The study aims at providing Arab countries with a set of policy recommendations that will aid them to combat child labor in all sectors.

Child labourers found in agriculture in the region are generally unpaid family workers performing hazardous tasks to sustain the livelihoods of their families. They are often also refugees, displaced, or living under siege. They are ususally engaged in harmful, remunerated work in food processing, crop harvesting and natural resource collection.

“In the Arab region, most child labourers are found in the agriculture sector, which gives FAO a critical and strategic key role in addressing this challenge. When children are educated and safe, they are given a much higher opportunity to grow and become agents of change,” said Alfredo Impiglia, FAO Small-scale Family Farming Regional Initiative Delivery Manager. 

"My sincere hope is that this study will set a precedent for further collaborative research efforts, that will result in pragmatic policies and direct interventions to lessen the suffering of children in this region – to take them out of exploitative and hazardous work, return them to their classrooms, and ensure that long-term sustainable measures are in place to prevent their return to the workplace until they are of legal age, with the competencies and skills they need to acquire decent work and secure livelihoods," stated Frank Hagemann, ILO Deputy Regional Director for Arab States.

H.E. Ambassador Inas Mekkawy, Chief of the LAS Department of Family, Women and Childhood, highlighted the importance of Arab states prioritizing the protection of children and welcomed the collaboration between LAS, ILO and FAO on the pivotal matter of child labor.

FAO, LAS, ILO, and the Arab Council for Childhood Development (ACCD) are supporting the study both financially and technically. The Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) is conducting the study, supported by the quantitative data analyzed by the Understanding Children’s Work programme (UCW).

The study will be finalized and distributed later in 2018.