A legal study

about Child Labor in Lebanon and the compatibility of the National legislations with the concluded Arab and International Conventions
 
By Attorney William Ghrayeb the consultant of the minister of labor
 
Date: 2002
 

Introduction:
In the recent years, The international concern in child labor and combating child labor, after the increase of the concern of human societies in insuring the successful and immediate and global measures in order to support their children from the potential risk of work, and its influence of their physical, mental, and psychological development. From the International era of economic, social and cultural rights, to the convention of children's rights, and the adoption of the International labor organization and the Arab Labor Organization a set of criteria and conventions that support the children from any economic and social exploitation, and prevents their employment in the work that is immoral or unhealthy, or subject their lives to risk or prevents their natural development… to the initiative of ILO to establish the International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC)… In this context, it is worth mentioning that the concern of ILO in combating child labor is since its establishment in 1999. At that time, ILO indorsed the first two conventions on the labor of minors; the first one is C.5K which prohibited the minors who are under the age of 14 to work in industrial establishments. The second is C.6 which prohibited the employment of minors who are under the age of 18. After that the implementation of conventions and recommendations started. Some of them are directly related to the work of minors, whereas others included provisions related to this work. These conventions are:

1. The International Labor conventions that are directly related to the employment of children and minors:

A. The minimum age
- C.5: the minimum age of employment (industry), 1999
- C.7: the minimum age of employment (sailors), 1920
- C.10: The minimum age (agriculture), 1921
- C.15: The minimum age (stalkers and their assistants), 1921
- c.33: the minimum age (the non- industrial work), 1932
- C.58: the minimum age (sailors) –revised, 1936
- C.59: the minimum age (industry) –revised, 1937
- C.60: the minimum age (the non- industrial work) - revised, 1937
- C.112: the minimum age (hunters), 1959
- C.123: the minimum age (working underground), 1965
- C.138: the minimum age, 1937

B. Night work:
- C.6: night work for minors (industry), 1919
- C.79: night work for minors (the non- industrial work), 1946
- C.90: night work for minors (industry) - revised, 1948

C. The medical test:
- C.16: the medical test for minors (sailors), 1921
- C.7: the medical test for minors (industry), 1946
- C.78: the medical test for minors (the non- industrial work), 1946
- C.124: the medical test for minors (working underground), 1965

D. The conditions of minors labor:
C.182: the worst forms of child labor, 1999

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