The world commemorates the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12 each year. This international occasion serves as an opportunity to renew commitment to protecting children from economic exploitation and to highlight the challenges that hinder the elimination of child labour. This year’s theme is “Red Card to Child Labour: Fair Play for Children and Decent Work for Adults.” In this context, the National Centre for Human Rights continues to monitor the situation of children and promote their protection as one of the groups most in need of safeguarding, a role it has undertaken since commencing its work on 1 June 2003.
In this regard, the Centre notes that children’s rights and protection from exploitation enjoy constitutional protection under the Jordanian Constitution and its amendments of 1952. Article (6/5) stipulates that “The law shall protect the rights of persons with disabilities and promote their participation and integration into various aspects of life. It shall also protect motherhood, childhood, and old age, care for youth, and prevent abuse and exploitation.” Furthermore, Article (23) requires the enactment of labour legislation that includes specific provisions governing the employment of juveniles and women to safeguard their rights.
At the international level, the Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms the obligation of States to adopt legislative, administrative, social, and educational measures to protect children from economic exploitation, establish a minimum age for employment, regulate working hours and conditions, and impose appropriate sanctions to ensure effective protection. Jordan has ratified this Convention, as well as several International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, most notably Convention No. 138 (1973) concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and Convention No. 182 (1999) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. At the regional level, Arab Convention No. 1 (1966) concerning Labour Standards addressed child labour in detail and established a legislative framework for Arab countries in this field.
The Centre also refers to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 8.7, which calls for “Taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and end child labour in all its forms.”
Within the framework of national legislative developments, the Social Development Law of 2024 was enacted, providing for protection and care services for children engaged in begging and aiming to reduce all forms and manifestations of begging through the development of relevant plans and programmes. The law also established a Social Protection and Care Fund. In addition, the Labour Law prohibits the employment of any child under the age of sixteen in any capacity and prohibits the employment of persons under eighteen in hazardous, strenuous, or health-damaging work.
The Child Rights Law of 2022 further prohibits exposing children to violence, abuse, neglect, or exploitation, including economic exploitation, forced labour, and begging. It obliges providers of educational, health, and social services, labour inspectors, and any person aware of cases involving exploited children to report such cases to the competent authorities. Jordanian legislation also provides special protection against the exploitation of children in begging activities. The Anti-Human Trafficking Law and its amendments classify the organized exploitation of persons under the age of eighteen in begging as a form of exploitation that may constitute a human trafficking offence, thereby reinforcing children’s right to protection from all forms of economic and social exploitation.
Additionally, the Regulation on the Protection of Working Juveniles and the Agricultural Workers Regulation of 2021 prohibit the employment of children under sixteen years of age in agricultural work, thereby strengthening legal safeguards against labour-related risks and exploitation.
At the policy level, the National Social Protection Strategy (2025–2033) includes a range of interventions aimed at enhancing social protection for groups most vulnerable to violations, thereby helping to address the economic and social factors that contribute to child labour. In the same context, the Council of Ministers approved the National Framework for Reducing Cases of Child Labour and Child Begging in 2020 and mandated all relevant entities to implement its provisions according to their respective responsibilities.
An implementation guide was subsequently developed, detailing procedures, referral mechanisms, and practical models based on a case-management approach for dealing with children and their families. This approach aims to ensure the provision of necessary protection and support, facilitate the reintegration of working and begging children into the educational system, and return them to their natural environment within schools. Such measures contribute to reducing school dropout rates and promoting educational continuity as one of the most effective preventive measures against child labour.
In this regard, the Centre reiterates its recommendations calling for the adoption of comprehensive social and economic policies to address child labour and begging, improve the economic conditions of affected families, and provide social and psychological support networks for children and their families.
The Centre also recommends strengthening oversight by relevant authorities in areas where child labour is prevalent, particularly in the agricultural sector, by effectively enforcing child labour legislation and imposing stronger deterrent penalties on violators rather than relying solely on monetary fines. Furthermore, the Centre emphasizes the importance of taking measures to reduce school dropout rates and address the economic and social factors that drive children to leave school and enter the labour market prematurely.
Finally, the Centre calls for enhancing the role of the media in implementing awareness campaigns on the harmful consequences of child labour and fostering a child-friendly environment that promotes positive social change through continuous training and awareness programmes targeting families and society as a whole.
