Invitation to Join Alliance 8.7

Written by Ayman Okeil

On May 21, 2024, a tragic incident occurred where 10 girls died during the collapse of a ferryboat in the Abu Ghaleb area of the Qanater Charity facility. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event, as similar incidents have happened before. In January 2022, another car fell from the top of a ferry linking the governorates of Menoufia and Giza, leading to the death of seven girls from the village of Laghmaniyah, affiliated with the Ashmoun Center in Menoufia Governorate. In April of the same year, a truck carrying children working in a vegetable factory in Beheira Governorate sank, resulting in the death of eight children and the injury of six others, aged between 12 and 15 years. These three incidents represent the tip of the iceberg, as the victims are children who died while returning from work, some of which may have been engaged in dangerous activities, in facilities that lacked proper monitoring and supervision.

This tragedy brings us to an important issue: the worst forms of child labor, which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to eliminate in accordance with the eighth goal and the seventh target of the Sustainable Development Goals. Given the significance of this issue, the Alliance 8.7 to Eliminate Child Labor was established in 2017, and the first action plan was drawn up in Berlin for 2018-2019. The Alliance includes the governments of countries, as well as international and regional organizations, civil society organizations, and trade unions. The establishment of the Alliance represents an important step in working to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. Therefore, joining Alliance 8.7 would accelerate the pace of work to implement the SDG 8.7. While I recognize that some children need to work, the minimum requirement is to activate the inspection of the facilities where children are employed.

Combating the worst forms of child labor requires further efforts to eliminate this phenomenon and to reach the target of the sub-item on children’s rights in the National Human Rights Strategy, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by Egypt, which requires states in Article 32 to protect children from work in dangerous conditions. The lack of effective workforce offices in the governorates remains a gap in reducing the worst forms of child labor, as these offices are mandated, under Article 137 of the Executive Regulations of the Children’s Law No. 12 of 1996, amended by Law No. 126 of 2008, to conduct permanent monitoring of the employer.