Egyptian government joins forces with ILO to celebrate World Day Against Child Labour

© ILO

Cairo (ILO News), The ILO's celebration of the World Day Against Child Labour was co-chaired by H.E. Hassan Shehata, Minister of Labour; H.E. Nevine Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity; H.E. Michele Quaroni, Ambassador of Italy in Egypt; H.E. Sahar Al Sonbaty President of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood; and Mr. Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO in Egypt and Eritrea, and Director of the Decent Work Team for North Africa.

The event brought together stakeholders and development partners dedicated to combating child labour in Egypt.

In his welcoming speech, Mr. Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO Cairo office emphasized the importance of collaborative action in eliminating child labour, particularly noting the coincidence with the 25th anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182.

With approximately 160 million children worldwide engaged in child labour, Eric Oechslin underscored the necessity for joint efforts aimed at supporting families, and rehabilitating children through child rights’ support programmes such as: the ILO’s "Scream" training programme, which leverages via education, arts, and media.

He also highlighted the pivotal projects implemented by the ILO, in cooperation with development partners and national bodies, to eliminate child labour in Egypt includes: "Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa)" funded by the Dutch government, and “Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Small Industries and Streets by Supporting the Implementation of the National Action Plan in Egypt project under the slogan Empowerment Through Education and Learning” (ETEL Egypt), funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Additionally, he announced forthcoming projects such as "Accelerate the Elimination of Child Labour, Improving Working Conditions and Empowering Families in Jasmine Supply Chain in Egypt” (ACCEL Egypt -Harvesting the Future)" in cooperation with the Fair Labour Association and international perfume brands, as well as "Economic and Social Empowerment for Families through Environmental Friendly and Gender Sensitive Income Generating Activities to Combat Worst Forms of Child Labour among Girls and Boys” in cooperation with the Embassy of Slovenia.

"Children, akin to delicate flowers, some as young as thirteen years old, have shouldered responsibilities beyond their tender age. Despite the softness of their nails, they have been forced by circumstances to work to support their families," said H. E. Dr. Nevine Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, in her speech, in which she affirmed the Egyptian government's commitment under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to protect children's rights and ensure their upbringing in a healthy and safe environment.

She also pointed out the government's efforts in cooperation with international organizations in combating child labour through social protection programmes such as "Takaful and Karama" and "Waa'i for Community Development", within the framework of activating and implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) for Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Egypt and Family support 2018-2025.

For his part, H.E. Hassan Shatta, Minister of Labour commended the Egyptian government and the International Labour Organization for their efforts in implementing the NAP, emphasizing the importance of intensifying local and international cooperation to eliminate this issue by 2025.

Minister Hassan Shehata extended his congratulations to the NCCM on the launch of the “Standard Operating Procedures Manual to Combat Child Labour” and to H.E. Minister Nevine Al Kabbaj, on the launch of the awareness campaign for the "Waa'i" programme aimed at combating child labour.

His Excellency also expressed his anticipation for the forthcoming release of the national survey on child labour, praising the collaborative efforts of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and the ILO team for their contributions in identifying future priorities, sectors, and geographical region for addressing the issue of child labour effectively.

H.E. Sahar Al Sonbaty, President of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) expressed profound appreciation for the collective efforts in combating child labour. She also affirmed Egypt's commitment to the conventions on child rights and ILO Conventions Nos. 138 and 182. 

She clarified the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood pivotal role in conducting the national survey child labour in 2001 and developed a strategy to combat child labour in 2003, in addition to a number of initiatives aimed at protecting children engaged in labour in various fields.

She also praised the NCCM's role as a key member of the steering committee for implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) for Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Egypt and Family support 2018-2025.

From his side, Michele Quaroni, Ambassador of Italy in Egypt confirmed that protecting and promoting children's rights are among the top priorities for any successful government. He pointed out that the issue of child labour contributes to keeping families in poverty, as approximately one in ten children worldwide are engaged in child labour. 

The Ambassador elaborated that the child labour is prevalent in Egypt due to economic challenges; however, the government has been making significant efforts to combat this issue.

He highlighted that the Italian Embassy supports the Egyptian government's efforts by funding projects, such as "Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Small Industries and Streets by Supporting the Implementation of the National Action Plan”. He also underscored the importance of capacity building, enhancing the role of the private sector, and fostering knowledge exchange to effectively eliminate child labour.

During the celebration, a report titled "Child labour monitoring systems in the MENA region: Good practices, challenges and recommendations for a child labour monitoring system in Egypt’’ was launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour.
Moreover, an awareness campaign for the "Waa'i" programme to combat child labour was launched in partnership with the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Furthermore, the "Standard Operating Procedures Manual to Combat Child Labour” was launched to manage cases of children engaged in child labour and guide them towards the appropriate services, in collaboration with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
The distinguished audience witnessed a live theatre performance by children who had successfully completed the  SCREAM programme for child workers rehabilitation. 

The celebration was concluded with the screening of the award-winning documentary film "Not Really Children", directed by the Egyptian filmmaker Mohanad Diab, which won  in the regional media competition of the ACCEL Africa project..
During the concluding session, Ms. Marwa Salah, National Project Coordinator emphasized the importance of the celebration as an opportunity to reaffirm commitments and stress the importance of collaborative efforts among relevant partners to eliminate child labour, particularly its worst forms.