Municipalities and Farmers Unions sensitized on Memo of General Security on Prohibiting the use of children in agricultural work under 16 years old

This sensitization workshop is one of many events organized by the ILO to support a wide range of practitioners and officials, especially the Farmers Union, working to combat child labour in agriculture in Lebanon.

Summary

Agricultural Child Labour has been on the rise in Lebanon since the onset of the crisis in neighbouring Syria. During the last several years, hundreds of Syrian children have entered highly exploitative forms of agricultural child labour, during the harvest times.

In light of this increasing phenomenon, the ILO, in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and the Farmers Union, is organizing a workshop in Beqaa for twelve Municipalities in the Beqaa Valley region, the heads of their agricultural committees, Farmers Union members and main landowners in Beqaa. The workshop will take place from 20th. April 2017 at the Delore Hotel in Chtoura, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM for one day.

Participants/beneficiaries

This workshop is one of many workshops and sensitization meetings organized by the ILO’s Norwegian Embassy funded child labour project. Its aim is to support a wide range of practitioners and officials working to combat child labour in agriculture. These include General Security forces, Ministry of Labour officials, NGO’s working on child labour, the Farmers Union and other relevant agricultural unions.

Objective

This workshop will introduce the Farmers unions, their partner agricultural unions, and major municipalities in agricultural areas of Beqaa on the role of the Ministry of Labour in combating child labour. It will then explore the effects agricultural labour on children’s health and ways to maintain the occupational safety and health of agricultural child labourers.

Finally, it will sensitize the participants about the General security’s Memo prohibiting the use of children especially, Syrian children under the age of 16 years, in agricultural labour, whether in the fields or in production lines. Participants in workshop will representatives from twelve Municipalities in Beqaa, the heads of their agricultural committees and farmer unions’ members

Expected outcomes

Representatives from farmers unions, twelve Municipalities, the heads of the municipalities’ agricultural committees, and NGO’s working on child Labour will be sensitized about the importance of implementing the above mentioned General Security MEMO. By targeting the Beqaa Valley, one of the regions in Lebanon where the most agricultural child labour occurs, the workshop will therefore also limit exploitative child labour in agriculture especially amongst Syrian refugees.