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LCHR's Workshop about “Risks of Child Labor in Egypt”

On July 1, 2006, LCHR at Hor Moheb Hotel held a workshop about the risks of child labour in Egypt. 172 participants from development associations and human rights organizations working in the Egyptian countryside have attended the workshop, 45 female, 122 male and 5 children working in the countryside. They were from 16 governorates, 31 from Fayoum, 35 from Giza, 15 from Qena, 8 from Menya, 21 from Sohag, 8 from Cairo, 4 from Behira, 15 from Bany Swief, 10 from Daqahleya, 2 from Asiute, 1 from Aswan, 2 from Sharqeya, 5 from Qalubeya, 2 from Alexandria, 2 from Qharbeya and 1 from Port Said.
Mr. Karam Saber, executive director of "LCHR", opened the workshop. He invited the participants to watch a movie about working children in the jasmine farms, showing the types of violence and humiliation that they face on the hands of their employers. Then he interviewed the children and talked about the dangers that they faced in Northern Giza.
The head of the first session was Dr. Yousry Mustafa, coordinator of "the Arab Fund for Human Rights". This session was about the risks of child labor in Egypt under the policies of economic liberation. Then spoke Mr. Essam Ali "Ngo Coalition on Child Rights, Egypt", he has presented the legal frame work of child labor in international agreements concerned with children's rights issued by the UN and other relevant laws, and he has presented some remarks on these laws. He stated that there are 250 million working children worldwide, 140 million of them work in very bad conditions. 45% of the Egyptian population are under the age of 19. he has presented the economic, social and educational conditions of the people in Egypt, and the conditions of children who work in spraying pesticides, the size and causes of the phenomenon. The participants have agreed that there should be a legislation concerned with children that can provide solutions for their problems.
The head of the second session was Mr. Said Abdul Hafiz, director of "Multaqa Al Hewar for Development". He spoke about the importance of including the issue of children's rights in the agenda of the People's Assembly to guarantee their rights to social security and heath insurance. Then spoke Ms. Mervat Abu Tiej "head of Ommi Association for Rights and Development" about the stipulations for children to work in the agricultural sector, as they shouldn't be less than 12 years old, they must not work for more than 6 hours a day … etc. she has asserted the necessity of issuing a law that protects working children and provide them and their families with pension in case of injury. As these working children are excluded from most of the labor law texts and articles. Then spoke Mr. Mohamed Tallima "member of the People's Assembly" about the legislations and laws and that he is more than ready to adopt the issue of child labor and present it to the legislative committee at the People's Assembly for discussion.
The head of the third session was Mr. Mahmoud Qandeel "an activist and expert in the field of human rights". He introduced Dr. Khalil Abdul Maqsoud who presented a paper about the role of CSOs in protecting the rights of working children. Then he presented the problems of young girls working in the Egyptian countryside and the violations that they face. He stated that the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood says that 70% of working children in Egypt are in the countryside, most of them are females. Mr. Mahmoud Qandeel has presented some recommendation concluded from the discussions of the participants, such as:
• The assembly of some lawyers to discuss the making of a new legislation which will be presented to the People's Assembly.
• Solving the problem of school drop outs by forming a committee that includes members of national associations and teachers who can discuss and evaluate the educational conditions, and that education should be free, especially for poor families.
• Document successful experiments done by national associations in this field.
• Enhancing the role of syndicates and political parties to face the phenomenon of child labor.
• organize training courses and symposia to raise people's awareness to teach people more about international and national laws and covenants that protect children's rights.
The participants have asserted that LCHR must coordinate work among interested associations to protect the rights of working children, present the workshop's recommendations to different ministries and officials and hold such meetings to guarantee children their rights to a decent, safe and happy life.