Country profile LBY
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 1972-10-18 | C138 & C182 | Order of the Minister of Labour concerning the definition of industries in which it is prohibited to employ young persons under the age of 18 | [{"link_name":"Order of the Minister of Labour","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=50002"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | An order of the Minister of Labour of Libya sets forth the industries in which it is prohibited to employ young persons under the age of 18. |
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 1972-10-18 | C138 & C182 | Order of the Minister of Labour concerning the definition of industries in which it is prohibited to employ young persons under the age of 18 | [{"link_name":"Order of the Minister of Labour","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=50002"}] | Yes | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | An order of the Minister of Labour of Libya sets forth the industries in which it is prohibited to employ young persons under the age of 18. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | 2005-08-31 | C182 | Decree No. (86) of 2005 on regulations, rules and provisions on the execution of Law No. (21) of 1991 on mobilisation - Article (5) 10. | [{"link_name":"Decree No. (86) of 2005","source_link":"https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/decree-no-86-of-2005-on-regulations-rules-and-provisions-on-the-execution-of-law-no-21-of-1991-on-mobilisation/"}] | Yes | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | Article (5) 10. of the Decree states that the military service should be imposed on "every person holding the nationality of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, aged between eighteen and fifty-five years, with the exception of those tasked with duties related to the war effort during mobilisation". |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 1954-01-01 | C182 | Penal Code - Articles (463) and (474) | [{"link_name":"Penal Code","source_link":"https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/penal-code/"}] | No | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Although the Article 463 of the Penal Code states that "anyone who takes advantage of the needs, weakness, caprice, or inexperience of a person under the age of twenty-one, or takes advantage of the vulnerability, mental illness or mental defect of another, and induces him to commit any legal act which is such as to prejudice his interests or the interests of another, in order to obtain a benefit for himself or another, shall be punished"; and the Article 474 states that should be punished any parent or guardian who employs a juvenile under the age of eighteen who conduct the trade of an itinerant vendor without license from the competent authorities, or who does not observe the conditions prescribed by law for the practice of that trade; In both provisions, the use, procuring or offering of a child aged less than 18 for the purpose of trafficking of drugs is not clearly prohibited. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 1954-01-01 | C182 | Penal Code - Article (409) | [{"link_name":"-CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4325196,103130:NO"},{"link_name":"-Penal Code","source_link":"https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/penal-code/"}] | No | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | In a Direct Request published in 2023, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) requests the Libyan government to bring some precisions about the section 409 of the Penal Code to know if it prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. Although The Committee notes that "according to section 409 of the Penal Code, anyone who incites a minor under the age of 18 years to commit indecent acts or assists, enables or facilitates the minor in any way to commit a lewd act shall be punished.", it also observes that, the "section 1 of Act No. 56 of 1970 on the protection of morals in public places, section 1 of the Vagrant Young Persons Act of 5 October 1955 and the Penal Code […] only prohibited public indecency, public distribution or exposing of pornographic materials and public pornographic performances, and did not explicitly prohibit the use, procuring or offering of persons under the age of 18 for the production of pornography.". In such conditions and in the waiting of some clarifications from the Libyan government, it should be considered that the national law does not prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 1954-01-01 | C182 | Penal Code - Articles 412, 413, 426, 418 | [{"link_name":"CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4325196,103130:NO"}] | No | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | In a Direct Request published in 2023, the CEACR observed the shortcomings of the Libyan regulation on the prohibition of all forms of sale and trafficking of children ; especially in regard to internal trafficking and to the trafficking of boys under the age of 18 for sexual exploitation. The Committee notes that "sections 412 and 413 of the Penal Code provide for penalties for the offences related to the abduction or detention of persons under the age of 18 years, by threat or force (for a person under 14 years, even without threat or force) for committing lewd or indecent acts; and section 426 of the Penal Code punishes any person who buys, sells, traffics or deals in slaves or persons in a condition resembling slavery. The Committee observed that these provisions appear to only protect children from some forms of trafficking, and constitute an incomplete prohibition, as provided for in Article 3(a) of the Convention. It further observed that the Order of 26 September 1969 only prohibits trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and does not address the trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Finally, the Committee observed that the prohibition on kidnapping does not appear to address the sale or purchase of a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation, nor the transport of a trafficked child. The Committee notes the Government’s reference, in its report, to section 418 of the Penal Code which provides for penalties for compelling a woman to migrate abroad for prostitution. This provision also prescribe penalties, if the above offence is committed against a minor. However, the Committee observes that this provision appears to cover only minor girls and the penalties apply only for international trafficking.". |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 2010-01-28 | C138 | Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations - Section 27 | [{"link_name":"Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=86041"}] | 16 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | Section 27 of the Law states that "a young person who has reached the age of 16 years may be employed, provided that [...] his work is for the purposes of an apprenticeship or vocational training". |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 1969-12-11 | C138 | Libya Constitution, 1969 - Article 14 | [{"link_name":"Libya Constitution, 1969","source_link":"https://clr.africanchildforum.org/Legislation%20Per%20Country/libya/libya_constitution_1969_en.pdf"}] | Yes | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | Article 14 of the Libyan Constitution stipulates that education is compulsory until the end of primary school, typically around the ages of 15 to 16. This is below the minimum legal working age, which is set at 18 years. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | 2010-01-28 | C138 | Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations - Article 27 and Article 28 | [{"link_name":"Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=86041"}] | Yes | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | Article 27 of the Law defines light work as some work the child can engage in provided his health, safety, and morals are maintained and provided he is employed to receive vocational education or training. For its part, Article 28 states that light work should not exceed 6 hours a day. These working hours must include periods of at least one hour in total for resting and eating, so that the child does not work for more than four consecutive hours. |
| Minimum age for light work | 2010-01-28 | C138 | Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations - Article 27 | [{"link_name":"Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=86041"}] | 16 | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | Article 27 of the Law provides that, as an exception to the minimum age for admission to work, children above 16 can do light work. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2010-01-28 | C138 | Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations - Article 27 | [{"link_name":"Law No. 12 of 1378 [2010] on Labour Relations","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=86041"}] | 18 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Article 27 of the Law stipulates that "A person under the age of eighteen years may not engage in any kind of work.". |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 04-OCT-2000 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 19-JUN-1975 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partly supported by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, The National Strategy for Social Justice in Libya aims to achieve social justice by improving the living conditions of vulnerable groups, and promoting inclusiveness and sustainability. It is based on six main pillars, some of which may present opportunities for reducing child labour, such as those dealing with social protection and assistance or equitable education. | [{"link_name":"National Strategy for Social Justice in Libya","source_link":"https://www.unescwa.org/publications/national-strategy-social-justice-libya-2025-2027#:~:text=The%20National%20Strategy%20for%20Social,and%20promoting%20inclusiveness%20and%20sustainability."}] | 2025–2027 | National Strategy for Social Justice in Libya | No information |