According to the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, over 200 million children aged 6 to 17 are engaged in labor worldwide, with Iraq ranking as the fourth highest country in terms of the number of child laborers.

 

Financial instability has forced many Iraqi families to rely on their children for income, despite Iraqi laws prohibiting children under 15 from working.

 

The International Rescue Committee in Iraq reports a growing number of child laborers, leading to increased school dropouts and deprivation of childhood and basic rights.

 

The report also highlights that 85 percent of these children do not feel safe at work and often face abuse on the streets.

 

Qassim Hussein Saleh, president of the Iraqi Association of Psychologists, attributes the rise in child labor to the aftermath of the 1991 and 2003 wars, which left 13 million people in poverty due to economic sanctions.

 

Fazel Gharawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, notes that 80 percent of child laborers globally are male, and Iraq ranks fourth after Yemen, Sudan, and Egypt.

 

In Iraq, 4.9 percent of children are employed in industry, agriculture, and services due to economic hardships, declining incomes, unemployment, and poverty.

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