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

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

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The Committee takes note of the observations of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL) received with the Government’s report.

Articles 3 and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Trafficking. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the Ministry of Justice does not have the statistical information requested regarding the number of cases, prosecutions and convictions for the offence of child trafficking under the Anti-Trafficking Act No. 164, 2011.

The Government further provides information, in its report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), on the measures taken in the area of training as regards trafficking in persons. In particular, the Committee notes that the Directorate of Internal Security Forces delivers training sessions to its personnel on conducting investigations involving women and children, as well as specialized courses on standard operational procedures and tools for protecting children who are at risk. In the area of victim protection, the Government indicates that the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau collaborates with a number of international organizations and associations to secure extra protection to victims of trafficking in safe shelters in secret locations. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that cases of trafficking of children under the age of 18 are detected and that investigations and prosecutions are conducted against the perpetrators. In this regard, it strongly encourages the Government to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement bodies to combat child trafficking, including the Internal Security Forces, as well as to take measures to ensure that information is compiled on these investigations and prosecutions, as well as on the number and nature of convictions and penalties imposed. Finally, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to strengthen its measures to ensure that child victims of trafficking are provided with appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration services. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and results achieved on all these points.

Clauses (b) and (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or for pornographic performances and for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, while section 3 of Annex No. 1 of Decree No. 8987 of 2012 on hazardous work prohibits illicit activities (pornography and the production or trafficking of drugs) for minors under the age of 18, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Justice does not have statistical information regarding its application in practice. Yet, the Committee observes that the Government indicates, in its report, that the dire economic situation has increased the likelihood of girls, in particular, being drawn into prostitution and the potential for children in general to be caught up in the sale, spread and use of narcotic substances. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the application in practice of the provisions of Decree No. 8987 of 2012 prohibiting the engagement of children for prostitution or pornographic purposes or for illicit activities. The Committee also requests the Government to take measures to ensure that statistical information on any prosecutions and convictions made with regard to the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances or for illicit activities, is made available and to provide this information with its next report.

The Committee further notes the Government’s information that section 30 of the new draft law amending the Labour Code (draft Labour Code) will prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or pornographic performances, as well as for illicit activities. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in the adoption of the new Labour Code and to provide a copy of the relevant new provisions prohibiting and penalizing the use, procuring or offering of persons under the age of 18 for prostitution, the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and for illicit activities.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Refugee children. Following its previous comments, in which the Committee took note of the many Syrian refugee children who were not enrolled in school and who were working in hazardous conditions in the agricultural and urban informal sectors, the Committee notes the Government’s information regarding certain measures taken to protect child refugees from the worst forms of child labour, such as including Syrian children among the commitments of the National Action Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour (NAP-WFCL) in 2017.

However, the Committee notes that according to the 2019 “Survey on Child Labour in Agriculture in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon: the Case of Syrian Refugees”, undertaken by the American University of Beirut, around 70 per cent of refugee children in the Bekaa Valley between the ages of 4 and 18 are working, and 75 per cent of them are employed in the agricultural sector and prone to the hazardous exposures encountered in agricultural work. Moreover, Syrian and other refugee children are facing important difficulties in accessing education.

The Committee takes note of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), which is a joint plan launched in 2015 between the Government of Lebanon and its international and national partners and the Government’s main response to support displaced Syrians, vulnerable Lebanese and Palestinian refugees. The Committee notes that the LCRP continues to be implemented in a holistic, comprehensive and integrated manner to achieve the following strategic objectives: (1) ensure the protection of displaced Syrians, vulnerable Lebanese and Palestinian refugees; (2) provide immediate assistance to vulnerable populations; (3) support service provision through national systems; and (4) reinforce Lebanon’s economic, social and environmental stability. While acknowledging the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee urges the Government to continue and strengthen its efforts to protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of refugee children who have benefited from the initiatives taken in this regard, including those who have been supported through education. To the extent possible, please provide such information disaggregated by age, gender and country of origin.

Children in street situations. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes note of the existence of the National Action Plan to End Street Begging by Children (NAP-ESB) of the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA), which seeks to end child begging by ensuring legal protection for children on the streets, building capacity to protect them, rehabilitating and reintegrating them, and conducting outreach regarding the problem. The Government indicates that the latest census on children in street situations dates back to 2016 and was conducted by the MSA as part of the NAP-ESB, which shows that there were more than 15,000 children in the streets, 65 per cent of whom were Syrian, 5 per cent Lebanese, and 30 per cent of various nationalities or undocumented origins.

The Committee takes notes in this regard that a form was developed and is being used and submitted to the MSA every six months by all local and international associations working to address the issue of child begging, in which is indicated the number of children that have been supported. The Government states that such associations have succeeded in removing from the streets 9 per cent – out of a total of 6,000 children across the country who have been reached – and return them to school or enrol them in non-formal education. The Government also indicates that a study has been prepared that proposes solutions to constrain and prevent parents from sending their children on the streets. Proposals include such ideas as making cash assistance to families in need conditional upon their children’s education, or providing a practical and effective foster environment or a family that might serve as an alternative for any child who has been subjected to exploitation. The Committee also takes note of the Government’s detailed information regarding the measures that the MSA continues to implement in the field of child protection, including within the Strategic Plan for the Protection of Women and Children that is being implemented since 2014 and has been extended until 2027 in partnership with UNICEF. The Committee once again urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect children in street situations from the worst forms of child labour, and to provide for their rehabilitation and social reintegration, in the framework of the NAP-ESB and of general child protection measures adopted by the MSA. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, including the number of children in street situations who have been provided with educational opportunities and social integration services through these or other measures.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.