Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 2001)

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted with concern the number and situation of children under the minimum age of 15 years who were engaged in economic activity and urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the situation.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information in this regard. The Committee notes, however, that the ongoing conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic has had an alarming impact on children. It notes that according to the UNICEF report of March 2014, entitled: Under Siege – The devastating impact on children of three years of conflict in Syria, since March 2013, the number of children affected by armed conflict in Syria has more than doubled from 2.3 million to 5.5 million, the number of children displaced inside Syria has crossed 3 million, and the number of child refugees living in neighbouring countries has reached more than 1.2 million. The Committee also notes that according to the ILO report of 2013 entitled “ILO Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan”, child labour among Syrian refugees was identified as an issue of concern in the very first joint UN-government needs assessment of Syrian refugees entering Jordan. The Committee further notes from a report of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees of November 2013 (UNHCR, 2013) that a UNHCR survey of Syrian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon found that children as young as 7 years are working long hours for little pay, often in dangerous or exploitative conditions. Nearly one in two refugee households surveyed relied partly or entirely on income generated by a child. The Committee expresses its deep concern at the situation of children in Syria who are affected by the armed conflict. While acknowledging the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to improve the situation of children in Syria and to protect and prevent them from child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

The Committee is addressing other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.