National study on worst forms of child labour in Syria

The Syrian population is considered to be a young population where more than 50% are under eighteen years of age and 39% are younger than fifteen. Enrolment rates are relatively high (above 90% ), but drop-out rates remain an issue to be addressed. There are 86,857 children out of school with males being 1.3 times more likely to drop out of school than females. Reasons for early school drop-out vary and have been discussed in the latest International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) document, along with a thorough analysis of other factors thought to be correlated with child labor. The magnitude of child labor in Syria is about 4% overall and seems to be strongly correlated with family income and the prevalence of agriculture. Thus, only 2.6% of urban children work compared to 5.5% among rural children . In the context of the joint effort by the ILO regional office for Arab States and UNICEF Syria to initiate a national program for the elimination of worst forms of child labor, a study was commissioned to assess the extent and characteristics of this phenomenon in Syria, thus providing a solid quantitative and qualitative basis for the program. The study aims to: ¿ Provide an overview of the socio-economic factors that affect child labor such as poverty, educational status, etc. ¿ Review legislation governing child labor in Syria and identify any existing gaps between Syrian law and core international conventions whether or not they were ratified by Syria ¿ Identify the main characteristics of child labor in Syria, with special emphasis on worst forms of child labor, such as magnitude, geographical distribution, types of work, etc. ¿ Present a picture of the conditions of working children with special emphasis on determinants of high incidence ¿ Present a set of recommendations indicating the areas that should be focused on in the national strategy.

Project symbol

SYR/09/01/CEF

Admin unit

RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut

Start date

01/12/2009

End date

31/07/2012

Total allocation

49970

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

49970

Development Partners

United Nations Children's Fund

Country/Countries

Syrian Arab Republic

Outcomes

Child Labour