ILO supports Egypt's fifth national steering committee meeting on worst forms of child labour
Implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) and full coordination with the ILO in its mid-term evaluation is essential as it helps identify strengths and weaknesses with recommendations that contribute to better planning of future activities, Mrs. Amal Abdel Mawgoud, International relations Undersecretary, representing His Excellency Mr. Hassan Shehata, Minister of Manpower.
2 February 2023
Cairo, EGYPT (ILONews) ILO supported the Ministry of Manpower as its Minister, His Excellency Mr. Hassan Shehata, chaired the Fifth meeting of the National Steering Committee (NSC) responsible for the implementation of the National Action Plan for Combatting the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Egypt and Supporting Family (2018-2025) (NAP).
Eng. Nevine Othman, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and Mr. Eric Oechslin, ILO Director of the Decent Work Team for North Africa and Country Director for Egypt and Eritrea, co-chaired the meeting. 20 tripartite representatives from ministries and national stakeholders concerned with child protection in Egypt and implementing the NAP participated in the discussion.
Representing His Excellency Mr. Hassan Shehata, Minister of Manpower, Mrs. Amal Abdel Mawgoud, International relations Undersecretary, stressed the danger of child labour, especially in the light of successive global economic crises the world has been witnessing, which in turn contributes to the high rates of poverty and poses a threat on children.
He also insisted on the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing the objectives of the NAP and full coordination with the ILO in the mid-term evaluation of the NAP to identify strengths and weaknesses with recommendations that contribute to better planning of future activities. He also referred to the National Child Labour Survey currently conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and its key role in providing a reliable database that reflects the current situation and can pave the way for better planning and implementation of all future activities to eliminate child labour.
Eng. Nevine Othman, Secretary-General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), focused on the Prime Minister’s Decree No. 4229 of 2022 regarding the formation of a committee to work on combating school dropouts, child marriage, and child labour within the framework of the Egyptian state’s efforts to implement the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family.
Moreover, she highlighted the role of NCCM in coordinating legislation related to the elimination of child labour and the importance of identifying gaps, especially in the field of agriculture, domestic work, apprenticeship, and the minimum age for employment with the aim of updating the labour law and complying with the international labour standards.
In his opening speech, Mr. Oechslin expressed his pleasure in the periodicity of conducting the National Steering Committee meetings within the framework of the activities of the “Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa” (ACCEL Africa) project, funded by the Dutch government to support the implementation of the NAP with relevant partners.
Mr. Oechslin highlighted the importance of the consistency of the committee meeting as a mean to follow up and evaluate the NAP activities and outputs so that the partners can effectively perform their roles in implementing the NAP in the best way to ensure its continuity and sustainability to contribute to the elimination of child labour, especially in its worst forms.
In this context, Mr. Oechslin stressed that conducting the mid-term evaluation for the NAP will contribute to monitoring the efforts made by the ministries, agencies, and other concerned authorities in assuring the effectiveness of the interventions and the progress made towards planned goals. This, would also help to identify lessons learned during the implementation and set priorities for actions to ensure the effective performance of the NAP and achieving the best possible results.
Mrs. Marwa Salah, the National Coordinator of the ACCEL Africa Project, indicated that the knowledge needs assessment and the exchange of knowledge and experiences between social partners and countries help enrich discussions and connect various policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to provide better opportunities and positive results to eliminate child labour. She also highlighted that networking and coordinating efforts are essential in advancing an effective elimination of child labour.
The meeting included a review of good practices to eliminate child labour in several African countries and how committee members can benefit from those experiences and practices.
Eng. Nevine Othman, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and Mr. Eric Oechslin, ILO Director of the Decent Work Team for North Africa and Country Director for Egypt and Eritrea, co-chaired the meeting. 20 tripartite representatives from ministries and national stakeholders concerned with child protection in Egypt and implementing the NAP participated in the discussion.
Representing His Excellency Mr. Hassan Shehata, Minister of Manpower, Mrs. Amal Abdel Mawgoud, International relations Undersecretary, stressed the danger of child labour, especially in the light of successive global economic crises the world has been witnessing, which in turn contributes to the high rates of poverty and poses a threat on children.
He also insisted on the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing the objectives of the NAP and full coordination with the ILO in the mid-term evaluation of the NAP to identify strengths and weaknesses with recommendations that contribute to better planning of future activities. He also referred to the National Child Labour Survey currently conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and its key role in providing a reliable database that reflects the current situation and can pave the way for better planning and implementation of all future activities to eliminate child labour.
Eng. Nevine Othman, Secretary-General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), focused on the Prime Minister’s Decree No. 4229 of 2022 regarding the formation of a committee to work on combating school dropouts, child marriage, and child labour within the framework of the Egyptian state’s efforts to implement the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family.
Moreover, she highlighted the role of NCCM in coordinating legislation related to the elimination of child labour and the importance of identifying gaps, especially in the field of agriculture, domestic work, apprenticeship, and the minimum age for employment with the aim of updating the labour law and complying with the international labour standards.
In his opening speech, Mr. Oechslin expressed his pleasure in the periodicity of conducting the National Steering Committee meetings within the framework of the activities of the “Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa” (ACCEL Africa) project, funded by the Dutch government to support the implementation of the NAP with relevant partners.
Mr. Oechslin highlighted the importance of the consistency of the committee meeting as a mean to follow up and evaluate the NAP activities and outputs so that the partners can effectively perform their roles in implementing the NAP in the best way to ensure its continuity and sustainability to contribute to the elimination of child labour, especially in its worst forms.
In this context, Mr. Oechslin stressed that conducting the mid-term evaluation for the NAP will contribute to monitoring the efforts made by the ministries, agencies, and other concerned authorities in assuring the effectiveness of the interventions and the progress made towards planned goals. This, would also help to identify lessons learned during the implementation and set priorities for actions to ensure the effective performance of the NAP and achieving the best possible results.
Mrs. Marwa Salah, the National Coordinator of the ACCEL Africa Project, indicated that the knowledge needs assessment and the exchange of knowledge and experiences between social partners and countries help enrich discussions and connect various policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to provide better opportunities and positive results to eliminate child labour. She also highlighted that networking and coordinating efforts are essential in advancing an effective elimination of child labour.
The meeting included a review of good practices to eliminate child labour in several African countries and how committee members can benefit from those experiences and practices.