Child labor continues [Archives:2004/719/Community]

Ismail Al-Ghabiri
Child labor remains a world problem, but it seems to be a more complex one in developing countries, including Yemen.
Statistics published by the nternational Labor Organization indicate that at least 205 million children, (age 5-17) are working in developing countries. Half of them are full time workers. ILO estimates that 8.4 million children are faced with harsh conditions leading them to accept hard and demeaning jobs such as smuggling, prostitution and compulsory recruitment to fight in armed conflicts. Despite obligations and commitments by governments and their associates to address the problem of child labor in all countries, an extensive problem remains .
In Yemen, the problem of child labor is present in almost all economic fields. The 1995 Annual Statistics indicate that the percentage of children working, aged 10-19 years, is 14.2%. InOctober 1997, when a seminar was held on this phenomenon, the percentage of children, aged 10-14, estimated to be working was 40%. Another estimate was 20%. However, 96% of this category is composed of children coming from rural families or working in rural areas.
The field survey prepared by specialists on child labor in Yemen, in cooperation with a Swedish Organization caring for children, conducted on random samples of 1555 children aged 7-17. The study confirmed that working conditions involve a high risk of injury and difficult or exhausting work. The study recorded a higher injury rate among children. 22 % suffer from permanent disabilities, 18% poisoning incidents, 13.6% burns, 7.2% electrical shocks, 7% contagious diseases and 25% are exposed to extreme cold. The study mentioned above, the costs of which the Swedish Organization paid in advance, showed that 15% of children have dropped out of school, after different periods of attendance
The rates of child labor in the governorates of the Republic, in 1994, are as follows: Hodeidah 14.6%; Dhamar 11%; Hajjah 10.2%; Sana'a with 10.1%. The percentage of children working gradually drops to the lowest rates in Al-Jouf 2.9%; Aden 0.8%; and Al-Mahra 0.3%. However, there are no recent precise statistics about the number of children working in different economic activities. Recent years have witnessed increased numbers of children working due to the difficult economic situation, which began to deteriorate in the 90s.
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