The issue of child labour in the Arab states "has long been viewed either with indifference or with a degree of scepticism," the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says in a new report. "However, the last decade or so has witnessed a dramatic change both at the government level and in civil society at large."

Although the Arab countries now show "a commitment to tackling child labour", efforts to deal with it are hampered by a lack of information about the scale and nature of the problem.

The report, issued to coincide with the start of a two-day global conference at The Hague on child labour, continues:

It is assumed ... that the problem is significant in some countries and further compounded by poverty, widespread unemployment and the poor quality of education leading to early dropouts. Most working children are in agriculture and endemic political conflicts have led to an aggravation of the problem. The latest conflict in Gaza is a case in point, leading to school disruptions and loss of adult breadwinners ...

Legislative reform raising the minimum age for work has been accomplished in many countries along with other child protection measures. However, there is still a long way to go to create monitoring mechanisms to ensure implementation.

The special situation of girls is still not fully recognised as a priority in the region, with many parliamentarians, for example, still opposing minimum age laws for marriage. As in other regions, many working children are in the informal economy where labour law is hardly ever applied.

An article in The National this morning discusses the problem and says the ILO is focusing particularly on Egypt and Yemen – both of which are considered to be in need of "priority attention".

"The recent conflict between Houthi rebels and government troops in northern Yemen has exacerbated the country’s child labour problems," the ILO is quoted as saying.

Yesterday, in collaboration with the ILO, Yemen announced the start of its "first comprehensive field survey of street children across the country". More than 300 researchers are said to be involved in the work.