On the International Day to Combat Child Labor

Maat calls for the protection of Yemeni children from the violations of the Houthi militia

The world celebrates on this day June 12 of each year the International Day to Combat Child Labor, a day that the International Labor Organization has dedicated since 2002 to focus attention on the extent of the phenomenon of child labor in the world, and to exert the necessary efforts to eliminate this phenomenon. This day brings together governments, employers 'and workers' institutions, civil society, as well as millions of people from all over the world to shed light on the plight of working children and how to help them. As 152 million children are still involved in the phenomenon of child labor, which is found in almost all sectors, however, 7 out of 10 working children are in the agricultural sector.

On this occasion the foundation is demanding Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights (Egypt) The international community urges the need to provide protection for children and work to achieve the seventh goal of the eighth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which stipulates “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor and end modern slavery and human trafficking to ensure that the worst forms of child labor are prohibited and eradicated, including their recruitment and use as soldiers. And ending child labor in all its forms by 2025. ”

Maat Foundation believes that at a time when the United Nations and international organizations call for combating child labor, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia continues unabatedly to use and recruit children in the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen, where the number of child soldiers is increasing dramatically. Statistics indicate that the Houthi militia has recruited between 23 and 25 thousand children, to be thrown into combat operations, in violation of international agreements and laws protecting children's rights. Then the Maat Foundation calls on the international community to take a decisive stance towards the operations of the Houthi militia in recruiting children and throwing them into the battles, which leads to the death of hundreds of Yemeni children.