Child labour is a serious violation of children’s rights which can result in extreme bodily and mental harm and even death. It restricts their fundamental rights and threatens their futures by isolating them from schooling or access to healthcare. Nearly I in 10 children are subjected to child labour worldwide. Some of the children are forced into hazardous work through trafficking, slavery and sexual or economic exploitation.
In Lebanon , child labor has exceedingly become prevalent with children working under harmful and difficult conditions. Children can be found working informally on farms, on the street, on constructions sites, and in delivery services, to name a few. Governmental and civil society organizations in Lebanon have worked closely to address protection concerns for working children and provide sufficient services and programming to respond to this problem. However, the prevalence and depth of the problems is widespread.
IRC work in the country has resulted in the creation of materials and tools that can be used for advocacy purposes to galvanize communities into action to end child labor. These are meant to provide a space for agencies in Lebanon and beyond to share creative and engaging tools that can be used by frontline workers and project management staff to end or reduce the harm that working children are exposed to. Read more on the tools below under specific resources.
IRC has also been operating in Bangladesh since October 2017 to protect the most vulnerable population and promote their rights by ensuring their access to services in the sectors with urgent needs, as identified by the collaborated humanitarian agencies in the area. IRC has recognized longer-term needs concerning the Rohingya crisis and the broader context of Bangladesh. In continuation of that commitment, IRC conducted an in-depth study on the child labor situation in the Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazilas of Cox’s Bazar. This study analyses the impact of disasters and other fundamental causes of children prone to child labor in both host and Rohingya communities. Below are both the full report and summary under specific resources.
Specific Resources
- Child Labor Full Report – Bangladesh (English)
- A risk mitigation comic for street children (English, Arabic)
- A risk mitigation comic for children working in agriculture (English, Arabic)
- Posters with key messages for children
- Parenting skills modules for caregivers of working children (English, Arabic)
- Community guidebook on Worst Forms of Child Labor
- Pocket guidebook for front-liners
- Child labor case management tools