Since the conflict in Syria broke out in 2011, millions have been exposed to fatal consequences. More than 5.5 million Syrians have fled the country – mainly to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. 6.6 million are currently internally displaced inside of Syria and 13.1 million are in need of humanitarian aid. Of the 5.5 million refugees, 22% of them are boys between the ages of 0-17 years and 23% are girls between the age of 0-17, meaning that close to half are children.
UNICEF classifies children as one of the most vulnerable groups during humanitarian crises. In the case of children in Syria, they are exposed to numerous risks: displacement, family separation, malnutrition, health issues. Furthermore, they are also at risk of abduction, child marriage, child soldier recruitment and child labour.
Child labour is a less obvious risk to children in crisis settings though it is nonetheless a massive threat to children’s welfare, development and safety, especially within hazardous child labour where children take on risky jobs to provide for themselves and their families.
Child labour in the MENA region is primarily located in the sectors of agriculture, services and industry, and appears among IDPs in Syria as well as in host communities such as Lebanon and Jordan. Furthermore, a variety of tendencies are spreading among child workers, such as street work, bonded labour, early marriage, commercial sexual exploitation and child soldier recruitment, which Save the Children and UNICEF categorises as the worst form of child labour. However, what the majority have in common is that they are out of school and have attended no or limited schooling previously.
Currently, more than 2 million children in Syria are out of school with a further 1.3 million at risk of dropping out. The educational sector has faced severe disruption by the conflict as 25% of educational buildings are destroyed or damaged alongside the lack of inadequately qualified teachers. An additional factor to school dropouts besides the disrupted schooling system, is that a large number of households have to rely on their children for an income. For many families with poor livelihoods, children are the only source of income. In 2016, UNICEF estimated that approximately 7 million children are living in poverty conditions in Syria.
In host communities, an estimated 800.000 children are out of school with the majority currently located in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. In 2015, 70% of these children were estimated to live below the poverty line. As parents are often unable to provide income for their families in host communities, many households are forced to rely on their children to be the main source of income. One key factor is the complexity of obtaining a work permit and collecting the necessary documents to do so. Alongside the growing unemployment rate in these countries, many adults and children are forced to take on informal jobs.
Among other organisations, the ILO (International Labour Organization) and the UN have already warned of an increase in child labour due to the pandemic, which has led to national and international restrictions which are predicted to increase poverty rates. Worldwide, it is estimated that another 42-66 million children will live in extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic and economic consequences, including 4 million children in the MENA region. With these numbers in mind, it’s no surprise that UNICEF predicts an increase in child labour and an increasing number of school dropouts among MENA countries. It is estimated by the ESCWA (The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) that 1.7 million people will become unemployed due to the pandemic in the MENA region, forcing more families and household to depend on their children to support the family.
Several organisations aim to improve the conditions for child workers until such a time that it is possible to eliminate child labour. This requires an effort from all stakeholders to support the recommendations and guidelines provided. In the table below, recommendations from organisations, such as ILO, UNICEF and Save the Children, have been collected to create an overview of how different parties and stakeholders can cope with the growing child labour force.
The table is categorised into organisational, policy and business recommendations. Overall, awareness of child labour is key while governments are urged to identify and address the root problems such as poverty. Local companies are urged to not hire child workers under the minimum labour age, a measure which would need support at both the governmental level and organisational level. Cash-transfer programmes to vulnerable families at risk of entering their children into child labour could be of great benefit to keep them from resorting to hazardous child labour. For international companies, ILO recommend monitoring and ideally, third-party monitoring carried out by neutral parties to ensure child labour is not used in production.
Even though some impacts of COVID-19 and its economic consequences have already appeared, it is predicted that more are yet to come. The unemployment rate will likely rise, creating additional challenges for already vulnerable families in Syria and host communities. Instances of child labour are likely to increase. Thus, to significantly reduce child labour – and especially, hazardous child labour – a range of supporting initiatives are needed, along with massive funding in a reduced humanitarian sector.
For children to return to schools or attend informal educational programmes, extensive rehabilitation in Syria is needed. However, firstly the livelihood of the affected families needs to be significantly improved. Poverty and lack of income from adults is the main cause of child labour. Due to Covid-19, INGOs and other working stakeholders face increased challenges to protect children from hazardous labour and protect their right to education.
About the Author:
Charlotte Krog is a Junior Officer in Trust’s TPM and Research Department. Charlotte is currently studying a master’s degree of International Humanitarian Action (Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree Programme in International Humanitarian Action (NOHA+)) in Dublin, Ireland. She is currently based in Bilbao, Spain, where she just finished the specialization semester in Protection in Humanitarian Action.
Learn more about Charlotte on LinkedIn.
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