Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 138) sur l'âge minimum, 1973 - Libye (Ratification: 1975)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, according to the UNICEF Libya Country Programme 2023–25, that despite some achievements toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Libya has been affected by political fragmentation, the recurrence of security incidents and, therefore, slow reforms, gaps in sectoral policies, the absence of a comprehensive national development plan and significant data gaps for child-related Sustainable Goal indicators. Approximately 271,000 children in Libya need humanitarian child protection and 36 per cent of children aged 0 to 17 years are living in poverty in all its dimensions. According to the 2023 annual report, UNICEF has achieved notable progress in the country, including through the strengthening of education, and the provision of aid for child protection, including to the country’s migrant, refugee and displaced children. UNICEF has also contributed to the development of the National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS), aligning it with the sustainable development goals and international child rights frameworks. The Committee further notes, according to a UNICEF press release of 25 June 2023, that UNICEF, in partnership with the Bureau of Statistics and Census (BSC) is to conduct the first Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in Libya to gather essential data on the overall situation of children. The Committee expresses the hope that the MICS will be undertaken and completed in the near future and that it will contain updated information on the nature, extent and trends of child labour in the country. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard and on the results achieved in its next report. Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in the framework of the UNICEF Libya Country Programme on the progressive elimination of child labour in the country.

Article 2(2). Raising the minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that, at the time of ratification of the Convention, the Government specified a minimum age for admission to employment or work of 15 years. The Committee observes the Government’s reference to section 27 of the Labour Relations Law No. 12 of 2010, which provides that no one under the age of eighteen may engage in any type of work, but that juveniles may be allowed to work in vocational education or training upon completing sixteen years, provided their health, safety, and morals are maintained. The Committee recalls that, under Article 2(2) of the Convention, any Member having ratified this Convention may subsequently notify the Director-General of the International Labour Office, by a new declaration, that it has raised the minimum age that it had previously specified. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to consider sending to the Office a declaration specifying that it has raised the minimum age for admission to employment or work to 16 years.

Article 9(1) Penalties and labour inspection. The Committee notes that, according to section 4 of the Labour Relations Law No. 12, 2010, the Law applies to all labour relations in the country, whether regulatory, contractual or by participation, whether the remuneration for labour is a share of the revenue of the economic activity or a monetary sum, except for workers whose status is regulated by special laws or regulations, as well as those engaged in family activities (spouses, parents, and children). Under section 121, any person who violates section 27 is punishable by a fine ranging from 500 to 1,000 Libyan dinars. Moreover, under the provisions of chapter 5 of the Law (sections 110 and following), the labour inspectors are in charge of the monitoring of the implementation of the law. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of the infringements identified by the labour inspectorate in relation to the employment of minors under the age of 16, or under the age of 18 in hazardous work, and in all sectors, including in the informal economy. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on violations identified and penalties imposed and collected in this regard.