Jordan marks World Day Against Child Labour

AMMAN — Hundreds of children gathered at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman on Saturday to watch a series of performances by children in formal and non-formal schooling to mark this year’s World Day Against Child Labour. 

From musical performances, folk dancing and comic sketches, to a drawing contest by working children as well as school dropouts, and a child labour photo exhibition, the event attracted children from various nationalities and backgrounds. 

With support from the International Labour Organisation’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, UNICEF and other stakeholders, the event was organised by the country’s National Committee to Combat Child Labour led by the Ministry of Labour and hosted by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM). 

The activities were planned and organised by youth committees within GAM.

“Child labour has a negative impact on the physical, psychological and social health of working children and prevents them from acquiring the education they need,” said Hamada Abu Nijmeh, secretary general of the Ministry of Labour. 

“Tackling child labour requires national and international efforts to join forces in order to address these challenges and deal with their negative impact on working children and their families, which have been exacerbated in the last two years, due to the Syrian refugee crisis,” he added.

A key focus of this year’s event, which is part of global efforts to raise awareness on child labour, is the importance of quality education in tackling the issue.

“Children deserve to be in school, and not in the labour market. Their future should be built with quality education,” said Insaf Nizam, project manager of the ILO’s “Moving Towards A Child Labour Free Jordan” project. 

“Jordan has made significant achievements towards eliminating child labour in the Kingdom. Efforts should continue until we achieve our shared vision of building a child-labour free Jordan.”

During the event, the Ministry of Labour officially launched a new government child labour website (childlabourjordan.org) aimed at addressing the issue in the country.

The website, the first of its kind in Jordan, was developed by the ministry, in collaboration with the ministries of education and social development and the ILO. 

It serves as an official resource platform, outlining the work stakeholders are undertaking to tackle the problem, international conventions and treaties, research studies and publications, multimedia packages, as well as other relevant material. 

The website also provides information about the National Framework to Combat Child Labour (NFCL), which was adopted by Jordan in 2011 to improve its policy and legislation as well as enhance coordination between relevant ministries in tackling the issue. 

In addition, the website allows users to report identified child labour cases. It was developed as part of joint government and ILO efforts in implementing the NFCL.

Key efforts in combating child labour with ILO support

•   The development of a Child Labour Monitoring System and database to serve as an information-sharing platform on child labour cases 

•   The launch of the Jordan National Child Labour Survey for 2015-2016, in collaboration with the Department of Statistics

•   The development and expansion of the National Framework to Combat Child Labour in a number of governorates across Jordan. It is now operational in six out of the 12 governorates since March 2013 and is now being rolled out in another five governorates

Source: ILO