{"id":8721,"date":"2026-06-13T20:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T18:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrsly.com\/?p=8721"},"modified":"2026-06-13T20:43:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T18:43:34","slug":"human-rights-solidarity-children-in-libya-face-growing-risks-amid-complete-government-inaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrsly.com\/en\/human-rights-solidarity-children-in-libya-face-growing-risks-amid-complete-government-inaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Solidarity: Children in Libya Face Growing Risks Amid Complete Government Inaction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On the World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June 2026, Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS) warns that children in Libya are facing escalating risks, while the authorities have taken no legislative or executive action since last year to combat child labour or protect children from exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the UN and ILO, 138 million children worldwide remain in child labour, including 54 million in hazardous work. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cRed Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults,\u201d highlights the urgent need for accelerated global action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Libya, LHRS continues to document serious concerns, including the presence of children in areas controlled by armed groups or criminal networks\u2014environments that expose them to exploitation, coercion, and potential recruitment. The organization has also observed a sharp rise in the exploitation of children in street begging, both accompanied and unaccompanied, a practice considered one of the worst forms of child labour under international standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LHRS further notes the growing risks children face online, particularly on TikTok, where unregulated exposure to harmful content and digital manipulation has increased in the absence of any national online\u2011child\u2011protection framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organization calls on Libyan authorities to adopt a comprehensive national child\u2011protection strategy, strengthen monitoring mechanisms, address the economic drivers of child labour and begging, and protect children from armed\u2011group environments and digital exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LHRS stresses that protecting children is essential to protecting Libya\u2019s future, and that continued inaction represents a serious breach of the state\u2019s obligations under international child\u2011rights standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Ref: PRS 2026\/06\/1044<\/td>
June 12, 2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS) Statement on the World Day Against Child Labour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChildren in Libya face Growing Risks amid Complete Government Inaction\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Day Against Child Labour is marked this year under the global theme: \u201cRed Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults.\u201d<\/strong> This theme reflects a decisive moment in the global fight against child labour, as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations warn that progress has slowed dramatically. Despite two decades of global efforts, 138 million children<\/strong> are still engaged in child labour worldwide, including 54 million<\/strong> in hazardous and life\u2011threatening work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Marrakech Global Framework for Action, adopted at the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, provides a clear roadmap for accelerating progress through stronger laws, universal education, social protection, and decent work for adults. Yet the world remains far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending child labour in all its forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While many countries are strengthening their national systems to protect children, Libya has seen no legislative or executive progress<\/strong> since June 2025. No new laws, policies, or institutional mechanisms have been introduced to address child labour or to protect children from exploitation. This stagnation comes at a time when the country\u2019s political instability, economic hardship, and security fragmentation continue to expose children to heightened risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the past year, LHRS has documented a worrying increase in the vulnerabilities faced by children in Libya. Children continue to be seen inside camps or facilities controlled by armed groups or criminal networks. Even when not formally recruited their mere presence in such environments places them at imminent risk of exploitation, coercion, violence, or forced participation in dangerous activities. The absence of state oversight and the proliferation of armed actors create conditions in which children can easily be drawn into the worst forms of child labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, LHRS has observed a sharp rise in the exploitation of children in street begging<\/strong>, both accompanied by adults and unaccompanied. Children are increasingly visible at traffic intersections, markets, and public spaces, often under the control of adults who profit from their vulnerability. This practice constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour<\/strong>, exposing children to violence, trafficking, abuse, and long\u2011term psychological harm. The lack of any governmental intervention or child\u2011protection response has allowed this phenomenon to grow unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another area of concern is the unregulated use of social media platforms<\/strong>, particularly TikTok, where children spend long hours without supervision. Many are exposed to harmful content, online manipulation, and influencers who promote risky or misleading behavior. LHRS has documented cases of digital exploitation, psychological pressure, and dangerous online challenges involving minors. Libya currently lacks any national framework for online child protection, leaving children exposed to significant digital risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These dangers are compounded by deteriorating economic conditions, rising poverty, and declining access to education. Increasing numbers of children are entering the informal labour market\u2014working in workshops, markets, farms, and hazardous environments, or selling goods on the streets. With no national database, no monitoring mechanisms, and no social\u2011protection programs targeting vulnerable families, children are left to navigate these risks alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Libya\u2019s failure to act undermines its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Conventions on Minimum Age and the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Protecting children is not optional; it is a legal and moral duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this World Day Against Child Labour, Human Rights Solidarity calls on the Libyan authorities to assume their responsibilities and take immediate action to protect children from exploitation. This includes adopting a national child\u2011protection strategy, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, addressing the economic drivers of child labour, and ensuring that children are shielded from armed groups, digital exploitation, and street\u2011based abuse. Families must be supported, schools strengthened, and vulnerable communities provided with alternatives that prevent children from being pushed into labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting children is the foundation of any stable and rights\u2011respecting society. Leaving children exposed to violence, exploitation, poverty, and digital harm is a direct assault on Libya\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Solidarity Organization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tripoli, Libya<\/strong> June 12, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Endnotes and References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
International Labour Organization (ILO)<\/strong>:\u00a0World Day Against Child Labour 2026 \u2013 \u201cRed Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
United Nations Department of Global Communications<\/strong>: Global statistics and information on child labour, 2026.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Marrakech Global Framework for Action Against Child Labour<\/strong>, adopted at the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
ILO Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age for Employment<\/strong>, 1973.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour<\/strong>, 1999.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/strong>, 1989.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS)<\/strong>:\u00a0Statement on the World Day Against Child Labour<\/em>, 12 June 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS)<\/strong>: Previous statements and reports on children in Libya, including risks of children in armed\u2011group environments and unregulated social\u2011media exposure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
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