Saafan and Oechslin co-chair the third meeting of the National Steering Committee for the implementation of the National Plan of Action to combat the worst forms of child labor and support families in Egypt
Mr. Mohamed Saafan - His Excellency the Minister of Manpower, and Mr. Eric Oechslin - Director of the ILO Office for Egypt and Eritrea, co-chaired today, Thursday, via Zoom, the third meeting of the National Steering Committee (NSC) for the implementation of the National Action Plan for Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Supporting Families in Egypt (2018-2025) "NAP", a platform for coordinating the national efforts to eliminate child labor. This meeting is held on the sidelines of the World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL) 2021.
28 May 2021
At the beginning of his speech, His Excellency the Minister of Manpower, Mr. Mohamed Saafan, mentioned the importance of holding the meeting in the run-up to the World Day Against Child Labour, celebrated on June 12 every year, but also in relation to the United Nations declaration of 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.
This year is considered a global recognition of the seriousness of this phenomenon, as it threatens one in ten children in the world - according to international statistics and reports.
The Minister stressed the importance of addressing this phenomenon by including target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which states to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, by 2025. He also mentioned the universal ratification of Convention. 182, which reflects the willingness and commitment of all ILO member states to provide legal protection against the worst forms of child labour, slavery, sexual exploitation, the use of children in armed conflict, and other illegal or hazardous work that harms the health, morals, or psychological well-being of children.
Ms. Amal Abdel Mawgoud, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Manpower, explained on behalf of the minister that the Egyptian government pays great attention to combating the phenomenon of child labour by coordinating all national efforts and working jointly to protect and care for children through social welfare programs and providing the necessary support to families. In addition, it provides a supportive legislative environment that implements the Egyptian constitution and complies with all international conventions and standards that have been ratified.
In this context, she added that the Ministry of Manpower is keen to update and revise all relevant laws and decrees to cope with the latest international standards and updates in this regard. Accordingly, a draft has been prepared to amend Decree No. 118 of 2003 concerning the definition of a system of employment and apprenticeship of children, the conditions and circumstances under which employment takes place, and the occupations and industries in which the employment of children is prohibited based on their age.
In addition, the Minister of Manpower issued a decree establishing an executive unit for children under the leadership and with the participation of all technical departments of the ministry and a number of ministries and entities concerned with child labor. The objective of this unit is to continuously monitor the implementation of the national plan of action against the worst forms of child labour, to coordinate all national efforts and to work on new and innovative solutions.
Mrs. Amal Abdel Mawgoud said that during the last two years, the challenges have multiplied with the continuous repercussions of Covid 19 and its successive waves, which have hindered our relentless efforts to curb the phenomenon of child labour. It has become a clear threat and an explicit danger to the present and future of our children.
Despite the criminalization of child labor by national laws and legislations, the economic and social crisis has caused many families, who have lost their jobs and source of livelihood or suffered a drop in wages, to throw their children into the labour market to ensure their daily subsistence.
For his part, Mr. Eric Oechslin - Director of the ILO Office for Egypt and Eritrea, pointed out that the World Day Against Child Labour 2021, which takes place every year in June, focuses on actions to eliminate child labor since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this year as the "International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour".
Oechslin said WDACL 2021 is seen as an opportunity to call on the ILO's tripartite constituents (government-employers and workers) to take firm action to eliminate child labour, as it is the first year after the universal ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and coincides with the COVID-19 crisis that threatens to undo years of progress in combating the problem.
He added that the ILO Cairo Office believes that effective coordination with the social partners is essential to ensure the elimination of child labour in Egypt. Therefore, the main objective of this meeting is to monitor the progress made in the activation and implementation of the national action plan. In addition, the discussion of the draft ministerial decree on the list of hazardous work for children, which will replace the ministerial decree No. 118 of 2003, will provide the necessary legal framework for the elimination of child labour. 118 of 2003 to provide the legal framework to protect children under the age of 18 in the workplace and promote legal employment.
Mr. Oechslin emphasized that the Hazardous Work List is the legal tool to prevent children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, which includes an estimated 73 million children worldwide, aged 5 to 17, in hazardous work situations due to nature or surrounding circumstances, working in dangerous conditions in a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, mining, construction, and manufacturing.
In the same context, Ms. Marwa Salah Abdou, national coordinator of the Accelerated Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Africa's Supply Chains (ACCEL Africa) project, also noted that Decree No. 118 of 2003 has been updated in line with ILO Convention No. 182 of 1999 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which requires ratifying countries to draw up a list of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 in consultation with employers and workers, and to transform it into legislation and enforce it.
All the necessary steps to draft the updated list were considered in a consultative manner, based on international and regional best practices in this area.
It is worth mentioning that this meeting is held within the framework of the implementation of the activities of the Accel Africa project, implemented by the ILO Cairo Office with the support of the Dutch government, which aims to support public policies, institutional capacities and knowledge sharing among stakeholders to accelerate the elimination of child labour in cotton supply chains due to its strategic and economic importance in the agricultural and industrial sectors.
This year is considered a global recognition of the seriousness of this phenomenon, as it threatens one in ten children in the world - according to international statistics and reports.
The Minister stressed the importance of addressing this phenomenon by including target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which states to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, by 2025. He also mentioned the universal ratification of Convention. 182, which reflects the willingness and commitment of all ILO member states to provide legal protection against the worst forms of child labour, slavery, sexual exploitation, the use of children in armed conflict, and other illegal or hazardous work that harms the health, morals, or psychological well-being of children.
Ms. Amal Abdel Mawgoud, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Manpower, explained on behalf of the minister that the Egyptian government pays great attention to combating the phenomenon of child labour by coordinating all national efforts and working jointly to protect and care for children through social welfare programs and providing the necessary support to families. In addition, it provides a supportive legislative environment that implements the Egyptian constitution and complies with all international conventions and standards that have been ratified.
In this context, she added that the Ministry of Manpower is keen to update and revise all relevant laws and decrees to cope with the latest international standards and updates in this regard. Accordingly, a draft has been prepared to amend Decree No. 118 of 2003 concerning the definition of a system of employment and apprenticeship of children, the conditions and circumstances under which employment takes place, and the occupations and industries in which the employment of children is prohibited based on their age.
In addition, the Minister of Manpower issued a decree establishing an executive unit for children under the leadership and with the participation of all technical departments of the ministry and a number of ministries and entities concerned with child labor. The objective of this unit is to continuously monitor the implementation of the national plan of action against the worst forms of child labour, to coordinate all national efforts and to work on new and innovative solutions.
Mrs. Amal Abdel Mawgoud said that during the last two years, the challenges have multiplied with the continuous repercussions of Covid 19 and its successive waves, which have hindered our relentless efforts to curb the phenomenon of child labour. It has become a clear threat and an explicit danger to the present and future of our children.
Despite the criminalization of child labor by national laws and legislations, the economic and social crisis has caused many families, who have lost their jobs and source of livelihood or suffered a drop in wages, to throw their children into the labour market to ensure their daily subsistence.
For his part, Mr. Eric Oechslin - Director of the ILO Office for Egypt and Eritrea, pointed out that the World Day Against Child Labour 2021, which takes place every year in June, focuses on actions to eliminate child labor since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this year as the "International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour".
Oechslin said WDACL 2021 is seen as an opportunity to call on the ILO's tripartite constituents (government-employers and workers) to take firm action to eliminate child labour, as it is the first year after the universal ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and coincides with the COVID-19 crisis that threatens to undo years of progress in combating the problem.
He added that the ILO Cairo Office believes that effective coordination with the social partners is essential to ensure the elimination of child labour in Egypt. Therefore, the main objective of this meeting is to monitor the progress made in the activation and implementation of the national action plan. In addition, the discussion of the draft ministerial decree on the list of hazardous work for children, which will replace the ministerial decree No. 118 of 2003, will provide the necessary legal framework for the elimination of child labour. 118 of 2003 to provide the legal framework to protect children under the age of 18 in the workplace and promote legal employment.
Mr. Oechslin emphasized that the Hazardous Work List is the legal tool to prevent children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, which includes an estimated 73 million children worldwide, aged 5 to 17, in hazardous work situations due to nature or surrounding circumstances, working in dangerous conditions in a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, mining, construction, and manufacturing.
In the same context, Ms. Marwa Salah Abdou, national coordinator of the Accelerated Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Africa's Supply Chains (ACCEL Africa) project, also noted that Decree No. 118 of 2003 has been updated in line with ILO Convention No. 182 of 1999 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which requires ratifying countries to draw up a list of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 in consultation with employers and workers, and to transform it into legislation and enforce it.
All the necessary steps to draft the updated list were considered in a consultative manner, based on international and regional best practices in this area.
It is worth mentioning that this meeting is held within the framework of the implementation of the activities of the Accel Africa project, implemented by the ILO Cairo Office with the support of the Dutch government, which aims to support public policies, institutional capacities and knowledge sharing among stakeholders to accelerate the elimination of child labour in cotton supply chains due to its strategic and economic importance in the agricultural and industrial sectors.