Ref: 55/2021
Date: 28 October 2021
On Wednesday, 27 October 2021, Palestine’s National Children Council- Gaza Strip, sponsored by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in partnership with Save the Children, participated in an accountability session with their counterparts at Palestine’s National Council- the West Bank via Zoom platform. The session organized by the Defense for Children International (DCI) was titled as (Your Neglect is behind My Labor); during which, children asked officials and representatives from the Ministries of Labor, Social Development and Education as well as the Palestinian police and the Juvenile Prosecution at the Public Prosecution in the West Bank.
Mr. Khaled Qezmar, DCI’s Executive Director, and Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, PCHR’s Deputy Director, opened the session by welcoming the Ministries and Governmental bodies’ officials and appreciating children’s participation in the accountability session as well as highlighting the significance of investing in them to be the new human rights defenders in Palestine.
The participating children asked the officials about the ministries and governmental bodies’ plans to combat child labor and the mechanisms to protect the Palestinian children from economic exploitation according to the Palestinian Child Law.
Mr. Ma’moun ‘Odah, Director of the Juvenile Department at the Ministry of Labor, talked about the Department’s mechanisms to inspect the facilities that violate children’s rights by employing the underage. He added that the Ministry pays unexpected inspection visits to the violating facilities in coordination with the Public Prosecution to subject them to penalties stipulated in the Palestinian laws. ‘Odah underscored that the Ministry is keen to end the illegal phenomenon of child labor.
Meanwhile, Mohammed al-Qerem, Director General of the Protection Department at the Ministry of Social Development, said that the Ministry exert huge efforts to coordinate with the governmental bodies in order to end this phenomenon, facing difficulty to observe the children working in the Israeli settlements. Al-Qerem addressed the Gaza children that the Ministry lacks alternatives for funding the Social Development allocations that go to the poor, adding that the Ministry’s plans focus on following up the reasons behind forcing children into labor in light of their families’ poor economic conditions.
In his response to children’s inquiries, Mr. Mohammed Hawash, Director General of Guidance and Special Education at the Ministry of Education, said that the Ministry’s mechanisms regarding children’s dropping out and protecting children’s right to education. Mr. Hawash emphasized Ministry’s plans to expand the vocational education in order to target 16-year-old children and prepare them to enter the labor market according to the necessary occupational safety measures.
Colonel Jihad al-Haj, Deputy Director of the Family Protection Unit in the Palestinian Police in the West Bank, answered children’s questions about the powers of the police in the streets, in contributing to ending child labor in the streets and public squares, referring these children’s files to the Family Protection Department, and coordinating with the relevant ministries to ensure that children receive legal protection and not fall into criminal activities.
In terms of deterrence, Thaer Khalil, Head of the Juvenile Prosecution Office, addressed the legal application mechanisms on economic establishments that violate children’s financial rights, as well as establishments that contribute to the illegal employment of children. Khalil said that the public are at fault for abandoning their responsibility in submitting complaints to the Prosecution, impeding its role in protecting children. He added that child labor is among the Juvenile Prosecution’s top priorities, particularly child labor in settlements which entails a multi-folded threat to children and their wellbeing.
Lastly, the children presented legal memorandums to ministerial and government representatives, which included recommendations for an urgent national and comprehensive plan that addresses the fundamental social error that pushed children to work in the first place. They also recommended adoption of deterrent laws prohibiting child labor and entailing harsh sentences on those who use children or oblige them to work whether willfully or forced. The participating children demanded the Ministry of Education to coordinate with the relevant authorities to end the phenomena of children skipping school in any way, and to impose harsh penalties on any person that contributes to this practice. They also emphasized the importance of supporting fragile families who are at social and psychological risks and to connect them with social safety networks. They also recommended supporting the role of the local community in improving the conditions of vulnerable families and protecting children at risk.
