As the World Day Against Child Labor is marked on June 12, concerns are growing over the spread of child labor in Syria after more than a decade of war and successive economic crises. UN estimates indicate that millions of Syrian children are living in harsh humanitarian conditions that have pushed many to leave school and take up different forms of work to help support their families.
Although no recent, comprehensive national statistics are available on the number of working children in Syria, official bodies, experts, and international organizations agree that the phenomenon has expanded noticeably in recent years, driven by poverty, displacement, loss of income sources, and rising living costs.
Ministry: The Phenomenon Has Worsened in Recent Years
Hamad Barkal, director of the Labor Inspection Directorate at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, told Enab Baladi that the ministry acknowledges the widespread growth of child labor in recent years. He said school dropout and the recruitment of young workers by private factories at low wages are among the most prominent related patterns.
He explained that Syrian Labor Law No. 17 of 2010 regulates the employment of juveniles aged 15 to 18 by others, while employment of children under 15 is prohibited.
Barkal believes that the circumstances Syria has experienced since 2011 have directly contributed to the worsening of the phenomenon, through the expansion of poverty and unemployment, the loss of breadwinners, family breakdown, declining education opportunities, and the absence of educational institutions in some areas during the years of conflict, along with the accompanying rise in school dropout rates.
According to the ministry official, private factories are one of the main environments where children work. He noted that violations have been recorded involving the employment of juveniles in legally prohibited jobs or for hours exceeding the legally permitted limit.
He added that the ministry intends to intensify inspection tours in sectors with high rates of juvenile employment, focusing on hazardous work that may expose children to health or physical risks.
Violations Continue Despite Penalties
Data from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor indicate that violations related to child employment continue to be recorded.
In 2024, the ministry issued 23 fine decisions against violating entities involving 48 juveniles. In 2025, procedures were limited to awareness activities, before the ministry resumed issuing fines in the first quarter of 2026, with 22 fine decisions involving 27 juveniles.
The main violations recorded included employing juveniles below the legal age, assigning them to prohibited work, exceeding legally allowed working hours, lack of identification documents, and failure to announce the provisions governing juvenile employment under applicable regulations.
The ministry says it is working to curb the phenomenon through several tracks, including regular inspection campaigns, reviewing relevant legislation, reintegrating dropout children into schools, raising community awareness, and supporting poor families in cooperation with local and international bodies.
Barkal also explained that the ministry cooperates with social and educational institutions to return working children to classrooms, in addition to providing various forms of financial support and psychological care to families and children in partnership with humanitarian organizations.
However, according to the government official, anti-child labor efforts face many challenges, most notably the spread of informal work, weak funding, a shortage of inspection staff, and some social customs that tolerate children working at an early age.
War Changed the Shape of Childhood
For his part, Abdulbasit al-Mahhawi, gender-based violence program officer at the International Medical Corps, said the Syrian war was the most prominent factor in expanding child labor compared with the situation before 2011.
Al-Mahhawi told Enab Baladi that years of conflict, along with widespread displacement and the loss of income sources, pushed growing numbers of children into the labor market to help their families secure basic needs.
He said economic and social factors lie behind most cases of child labor, foremost among them poverty, rising living costs, the loss of a parent or the family’s main breadwinner, displacement, instability, weak education opportunities, and difficulty reaching schools.
According to the social expert, the effects of early work are not limited to the economic side, but extend to children’s psychological and social health.
He explained that working children may face ongoing stress, anxiety, and loss of self-confidence. They are also deprived of practicing a normal childhood, which negatively affects their social development and future opportunities.
A Continuing Cycle of Dropout and Poverty
Al-Mahhawi believes the relationship between child labor and school dropout has become clearer in recent years, as early entry into the labor market leads to declining academic performance and, in many cases, children leaving education entirely.
He added that the continuation of this phenomenon threatens to raise illiteracy rates in the future and reduces children’s chances of obtaining stable and skilled jobs, contributing to the reproduction of poverty across generations.
He also noted differences between the environments in which children work, explaining that children in rural areas often engage in agricultural work and the hard activities associated with it, while child labor in cities is concentrated in markets, workshops, and service professions.
He said displaced children face double risks compared with others because of their fragile economic and social conditions and their families’ greater reliance on unstable income sources.
Al-Mahhawi warned of several risks facing working children, including economic exploitation through low wages and long working hours, exposure to injuries and occupational diseases, as well as physical and psychological violence, harassment, and various forms of exploitation.
He added that early involvement in work environments may increase the likelihood of social deviation, the acquisition of negative behaviors, or exposure to exploitation by different parties.
Children Raised in Wartime
Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reflect the scale of the challenges facing children in Syria.
In a statement issued on March 25, 2025, the organization said more than 75% of Syria’s children, numbering around 10.5 million, were born during the 14 years of war, meaning they have spent almost their entire childhoods in conditions marked by violence, displacement, and deprivation.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said years of war and violence have devastated the lives of Syrian children, stressing the need for urgent action to ensure children have access to education, regain their childhood, and live away from fear and violence.
According to the organization, humanitarian conditions for children in Syria remain “appalling,” as nine out of every ten people live below the poverty line, while many families, under the pressure of living conditions, resort to harsh survival strategies, including child labor or child marriage.
UNICEF also noted that more than 40% of Syrian schools remain closed out of around 20,000 schools, leaving more than 2.4 million children outside the education system, in addition to more than one million children at risk of dropping out.
An Ongoing Global Issue
Child labor is not limited to Syria alone, as it remains a global challenge despite the progress achieved in recent years.
During an event organized by the International Labour Organization on June 9 in Geneva to mark the World Day Against Child Labour, the organization warned that slowing international efforts and declining funding allocated to social protection and education could threaten the gains made in this field.
The event was held under the slogan “A Red Card Against Child Labour: From Marrakech to Action,” with the participation of government representatives, workers’ organizations, employers, and relevant international actors.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said childhood should be a stage for learning, growth, and play, yet 138 million children around the world remain engaged in work.
He added that the latest joint estimates by the ILO and UNICEF showed that 54 million of these children work in hazardous jobs that threaten their health, safety, and physical and psychological development.
In Syria, the picture appears more complex because of the accumulated effects of war, the economic crisis, and the decline in basic services. Combating child labor is therefore tied to addressing its root causes, foremost among them poverty, improving education opportunities, strengthening social protection networks, enforcing deterrent laws, and returning children to classrooms.
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