MADINAH: Children are exploited by a number of parents. Children can be seen on streets and various places, forced by parents to do hard work. This is an attack on the rights of the child and it is a crime in developed countries.
In the Kingdom, children working in vegetable markets under the harsh sun and at traffic signals selling water are a common sight.
Arab News found children selling water in front of traffic lights. Most of these children are expatriates of Asian nationalities. Working in sales like this is a threat to their safety and security, particularly to their lives. They work as beggars disguising as salespersons.
These children are not educated and their parents do not monitor them. The parents do not care about the risks the children face from speeding cars, but look forward to the cash they bring home at the ed of the day.
The financial crisis in the family does not justify the exploitation of these children. They are deprived of their childhood due to the greed of their parents. Some of them are below 10 years of age.
Sharaf Ahmad Al-Qarrafi, branch general patron of the National Society for Human Rights, told Arab News that the economic exploitation of children under 15 is a crime as per the local and international law.
In Article 2/8, the law says that the child has the right to be protected from economic exploitation, or any act which obstructs his education and is harmful to his health. Similarly, Article 3/8 strictly prohibits employment of children under 15 in both the public and private sectors.
He said that the society was monitoring such activities which are acts of individual expatriates. In coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, those found employing children will be punished.
In the Kingdom, children working in vegetable markets under the harsh sun and at traffic signals selling water are a common sight.
Arab News found children selling water in front of traffic lights. Most of these children are expatriates of Asian nationalities. Working in sales like this is a threat to their safety and security, particularly to their lives. They work as beggars disguising as salespersons.
These children are not educated and their parents do not monitor them. The parents do not care about the risks the children face from speeding cars, but look forward to the cash they bring home at the ed of the day.
The financial crisis in the family does not justify the exploitation of these children. They are deprived of their childhood due to the greed of their parents. Some of them are below 10 years of age.
Sharaf Ahmad Al-Qarrafi, branch general patron of the National Society for Human Rights, told Arab News that the economic exploitation of children under 15 is a crime as per the local and international law.
In Article 2/8, the law says that the child has the right to be protected from economic exploitation, or any act which obstructs his education and is harmful to his health. Similarly, Article 3/8 strictly prohibits employment of children under 15 in both the public and private sectors.
He said that the society was monitoring such activities which are acts of individual expatriates. In coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, those found employing children will be punished.
