Miqdadi compliments the updated version of the National Framework for Combating Child Labour and Begging
03-15-2021
Amman - Monday, March 15, 2021 –
NCFA Secretary-General, Muhammad Miqdadi recently revealed that the adoption of the amended National Framework for Combating Child Labour and Begging during the Corona pandemic represents a remarkable achievement, especially in light of a growing concern brought about by global and United Nations indicators showing a rise in child labour as a result of the pandemic and the closure of schools which has impacted more than one billion adolescents in about 130 countries.
In statements to Al-Ghad, Miqdadi indicated that the updated framework was prepared by NCFA coupled with an operating procedures manual for handling working children and beggars for the year 2021, and was approved by the Council of Ministers at its session last Wednesday.
Miqdadi pointed out that NCFA has rolled out the framework document and its procedural manual to be applied by relevant stakeholders as a national working document that defines the technical methodologies, responsibilities and response mechanisms of all the relevant sectors for handling cases of children in work situations.
He indicated that “the framework works across three tiers: prevention through awareness, prevention with intervention, and prevention through aftercare. The second tier concentrates on response to child labour cases in accordance with a case management methodology, including reporting and interventions, while the last tier involves closing the file after safeguarding the child against engaging in child labour.”
“The significance of the updated framework lies in its response to the urgent amendments to legislation on childhood and child labour in light of the pandemic", indicated Miqdady adding that “in spite of the absence of any updated study on the number of working children in Jordan, international expectations and reports are warning of an increase in this percentage in Jordan and the world in general."
Miqdadi pointed to the warnings of the International Labour Organizations and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which cautioned that even when schools resume, some parents may not be able to send their children to school, warning that children "may be working longer hours or under poor conditions” as the pandemic lingers on.
He pointed out that "the most worrying thing is that more children may be pushed into work under worsening conditions, because families resort to the available means to survive."
Miqdady referred to a report entitled " COVID-19 and child labour: A time of crisis, a time to act " which revealed that “a one percentage point rise in poverty leads to at least a 0.7 per cent increase in child labour in certain countries”.
Explaining the objectives of the framework, Miqdadi illustrated that it is a national reference document that defines ways of handling cases of child labour and street children; sets roles and responsibilities of service-providers, each according to its role and degree of involvement with the children and their families; and introduces ways of reintegrating children into different educational frameworks which are the natural place they should be in. This reinforces the concept of participatory approach in the provision of holistic and integrated services and builds a network of partners supportive of this category and their families.
“Unlike the legislation now in force, this framework seeks to develop a case management approach for working with children workers and beggars and establish practical foundations for monitoring and evaluating programs and services and other tasks in this aspect,” added Miqdadi.
He also indicated that the framework is an updated version of the National Framework for Combating Child Labour prepared in 2011 in response to the changing legislative environment in Jordan. The updating process was carried out in 2020 in collaboration with UNICEF through a technical committee with the membership of several ministries and international and local stakeholders.”
Miqdadi illustrated that the framework’s accompanying operational procedures manual was designed to put the framework into practice by outlining procedures for handling children and their families accompanied by their respective form, referral mechanisms and the available communication networks based on a case management approach with a view to send the children back to their natural place which is school.
It is to be noted, the last child labour survey in Jordan was prepared in 2016 by the International Labour Organization in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan; it showed that there were about 76,000 working children, of whom 45,000 are in hazardous work.
