Iraq announces strategy to combat child labour
The Iraqi Ministry of Labour has introduced a new strategy to combat child labour amid increasing human rights concerns, with experts attributing the issue to worsening poverty and school dropout, The Arab Weekly reported on February 5th.
According to the Strategic Centre for Human Rights in Iraq, over 200 million children worldwide, aged between six and 17, are engaged in labour.
Iraq ranks as the fourth-highest among Arab nations for child labour, despite existing laws that prohibit employment for children under 15.
Data from the Ministry of Planning reveals that around 1.1 million Iraqi children do not have access to education and healthcare.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has previously raised alarms about the effect of rising poverty rates on Iraqi children.
The organisation has urged the implementation of a broad child protection system, with children constituting the majority of the 4.5 million Iraqis in danger of facing poverty due to conflict-related consequences.
“The ministry has formed ten committees to monitor and combat child labour, following the registration of 600 cases in Baghdad last year. The law penalises employers who hire children under the age of 15,” said Najm al-Aqabi, spokesman for Iraq’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
During a speech al-Aqabi elaborated that “the ministry has developed a comprehensive plan to address the issue, which includes offering social protection salaries or loans to affected families, as well as obtaining commitments from parents not to force their children to work or to drop out of school.”
He further said: “The ministry is closely monitoring the situation, particularly in industrial areas. In the coming weeks, weekly field campaigns will be conducted to spot violators, with offenders being referred to the relevant authorities.”
Economic hardship, declining household incomes, unemployment, and poverty have pushed 4.9 percent of Iraqi children into employment in agriculture, industry, and services.
Iraqi law strictly forbids the employment of children under 15, with violators subject to fines and up to six months in prison.
UNICEF has said that approximately one million Iraqi children are engaged in labour, with one-third of the country’s children living within severe economic hardship.
Additionally, one in every five children are forced into work to provide for their families, as ongoing economic struggles and instability continue to fuel high child labour rates across the country.
This announcement comes weeks after an adjustment to the minimum age of marriage for girls in Iraq lowering to 15 years.
The Arab Weekly
