Children in Iraq are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and in forced begging. (1-4) Household surveys, such as the 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) administered in Iraq, are not designed to capture the labor performed by IDPs living in camps and, therefore, do not capture the children within this population who are involved in child labor. Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Iraq. Data on some of these indicators are not available from the sources used in this report.

Primary completion rate was unavailable from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2022. (5)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 6 (MICS 6), 2018. (6)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Throughout the country, some girls are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation through temporary marriages, including girls living in IDP camps. (17,23) Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)-affiliated militias Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN) profit from and protect "marriage offices" operated by clerics who facilitate commercial sexual exploitation of children through temporary marriages. (2,17,20) Syrian girls from refugee camps in the Kurdistan region were sometimes forced into early or temporary marriages with Iraqi or other refugee men; some Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities allegedly ignored —or accepted bribes to ignore— such cases, including those in which girls were sold multiple times. (17) Research found that women and girls in IDP camps whose family members have alleged ties to ISIS endure a complex system of sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, and abuse by armed actors residing in the camps, security and military officials, and camp personnel controlling access to humanitarian assistance and services. (19)

Children in Iraq face numerous barriers to education, including displacement, the lack of local schools, the use of schools as shelters by IDPs, costs of transportation and school supplies, and lack of sufficient educational facilities. (7,9,12) Sources report severe teacher shortages in Sinjar district as the result of teachers being displaced. (7) Insufficient access to transportation and destruction of schools during the conflict with ISIS also continue to limit access to education; according to UNICEF, over half of the schools in Iraq require repairs. (7) In addition, children of parents whose marriages were considered to be informal due to the woman being a minor, some displaced persons and refugees, and some children with suspected ties to ISIS lack identification documents required for school enrollment. (7,25,26) As of March 2021, 1.34 million people remained internally displaced with poor access to education, with 2.6 million children in need of humanitarian assistance. (27)

Displaced children and refugee children are especially vulnerable to educational barriers, including the cost of transportation and school supplies, lack of documentation, host community children being given priority for classroom seats, and vulnerability to COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures due to reduced access to mobile devices, the Internet, and parental support. (7) Secondary and higher education systems sometimes refuse to accept students who previously studied at schools that used the Latin rather than Arabic alphabet; many of these students drop out as a result. (7) Children with special needs had limited access to education due to a lack of specialized teachers and school infrastructure. (7) UNICEF reports that, while almost 92 percent of children enroll in primary schools, only half of children from economically disadvantaged families complete primary school and less than a quarter complete secondary education. (28)

Iraq has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Iraq's and the KRG's legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including the prohibition of child trafficking.

* Country has no conscription (34) 
‡ Age calculated based on available information (35,36)  

Article 117 of the Constitution of Iraq recognizes Kurdistan, which comprises the provinces of Dohuk, Erbil, Sulaimaniya, and Halabja, as a federal region. (38-41) Article 121 grants the Kurdistan Region the right to exercise legislative, executive, and judicial powers. (38) The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament must endorse any laws that the Government of Iraq passed after 1991 for such laws to enter into force in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. (39-41)

In Iraq, Article 1 of the Law to Combat Human Trafficking requires force, fraud, or coercion to be present as an element to constitute the crime of child sex trafficking, which is inconsistent with international standards, including Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol. (32) The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament endorsed the Iraqi Law to Combat Human Trafficking, which means the operative human trafficking standard in the Kurdistan Region is also not in compliance with international standards. (42)

Iraq's laws do not prohibit the use of children in prostitution and do not clearly prohibit the use, procuring, and offering of children for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. (33) Moreover, under the Iraqi Education Law and under the Law on Compulsory Education, children are required to attend primary school for only 6 years, which is typically up to age 12. (35,36) This leaves children ages 12 to 15 particularly vulnerable to child labor, because they are not required to be in school, yet they are not legally permitted to work.

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2021, labor law enforcement agencies in Iraq took actions to address child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) and the KRG's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (KMOLSA) that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including an insufficient number of labor inspectors.

In August 2021, the director of MOLSA’s Child Labor Unit publicly reported that the Ministry carried out 20 inspection visits per month on average in its efforts to expose and enforce child labor violations, and its teams recorded 70 child labor violations in the first half of 2021. (3) All 70 cases resulted in a fine, temporary shutdown, or full shutdown of the workplace. (43) However, MOLSA officials stated that enforcement of child labor laws remains weak and ineffective. (3)

Sources indicate that, during the reporting period, KMOLSA and the KRG's Ministry of Interior (KMOI) were responsive to complaints of child labor in the Kurdistan region but would only conduct child labor inspections in response to a complaint. (3)

Although the number of labor inspectors is unknown, research indicates that the number of labor inspectors is likely insufficient for the size of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region's workforce, which includes over 10.7 million workers. According to the ILO’s technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 15,000 workers in developing economies, Iraq and the KRG would need to employ roughly 715 labor inspectors. (3,44)

When inspectors identify child labor violations, they can issue warnings and instructions, or refer cases to court. (45) KMOLSA indicated that funding is insufficient to carry out its duties. (7)

The government did not provide information on its labor law enforcement efforts for inclusion in this report.

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2021, criminal law enforcement agencies in Iraq took actions to address child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including prosecution planning.

In 2021, authorities may have inappropriately detained or punished children allegedly affiliated with ISIS—some of whom were victims of forcible recruitment and use by armed groups. (17, 24,46-49)

Although the Ministry of Interior (MOI) reported that it investigated 12 police officers for involvement in sex trafficking, research indicates that security and camp management personnel in IDP camps continue to be complicit in the sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls. (3,4) The government did not investigate or hold anyone criminally accountable for allegations of unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. (17,21) Some victims of human trafficking, including children who were forcibly recruited and used, are punished for unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit. (17,41,55) Research indicates that children are sentenced to up to 8 years in prison for prostitution, rather than being treated as victims of trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of children. (43) In addition, an NGO reported that police occasionally detained children engaged in street begging and kept them in custody before releasing them; police did not screen these children as possible victims of human trafficking or refer them to appropriate protection services. (11,17) 

The government did not provide information on its criminal law enforcement efforts for inclusion in this report.

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including lack of coordination among agencies to effectively process cases of children suspected of having ties with ISIS or children who are victims of human trafficking.

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including covering all worst forms of child labor.

Research was unable to identify any child labor policies in the Kurdistan Region. (3) 

In 2021, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the inadequacy of programs to address the full scope of the problem.

† Program is funded by the Government of Iraq.

In 2021, MOLSA launched a campaign with the ILO to raise awareness about child labor among students, families, and employers of sectors in which child labor is present. (54) The campaign hopes to reach 10,000 children, families, teachers, and others and is conducted in schools. The campaign will also include awareness-raising activities, such as television and radio programs. (54)

Efforts by the Government of Iraq and the KRG to provide protection services to demobilized child soldiers of ISIS or the PMF are insufficient. Failing to reintegrate former child soldiers leaves them vulnerable to re-victimization or re-recruitment into armed groups. (17) Likewise, research was unable to find evidence of specific active programs to support children subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other worst forms of child labor, including child soldiering. Existing programs do not sufficiently address the lack of access to education in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Iraq (Table 11).

1. Pasha-Robinson, Lucy. 'I was raped everyday': Yazidi girl speaks of horrors of being held as ISIS sex slave. Independent. July 24, 2017.
   http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-sex-slave-yazidi-girl-northern-iraq-rape-sexual-abuse-experiences-a7857246.html
2. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. April 3, 2021.
3. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. February 3, 2022.
4. U.S. Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report- 2021: Iraq. Washington, D.C., July 1, 2021.
   https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/iraq/
5. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, both sexes (%). Accessed March 2022. For more information, please see “Children’s Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions” in the Reference Materials section of this report.
   http://data.uis.unesco.org/
6. ILO. Analysis of Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Statistics from National Household or Child Labor Surveys. Original data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 6 (MICS 6), 2018. Analysis received March 2022. Please see “Children’s Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions” in the Reference Materials section of this report.
7. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. January 5, 2021.
8. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. May 24, 2021.
9. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. January 17, 2018.
10. Ben Hamad, Fatma. 'Some die at work': The appalling conditions of Iraq's child labourers. July 29, 2021.
    https://observers.france24.com/en/iraq-child-labour-brick-factory
11. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. February 18, 2020.
12. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. January 9, 2019.
13. Baghdad Post. As corruption goes rampant, Iraq children eat from garbage. July 31, 2017. Source on file.
14. Hartleib, Elisabeth. Child Labor in Iraq. Deutsche Welle, June 12, 2017.
    http://www.dw.com/en/child-labor-in-iraq/av-39210131
15. Menmy, Dana Taib. Coronavirus: Iraq's 'Covid-19 generation' faces forced labour, lack of school. August 22, 2020.
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16. Westcott, Tom. Donors talk big on Iraq reconstruction, but Mosul residents go it alone. The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), February 15, 2018.
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17. U.S. Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report- 2020: Iraq. Washington, D.C., June 16, 2020.
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18. Radio Farda. Many Children Working As Porters Die On Iran-Iraq Border. December 22, 2019.
    https://en.radiofarda.com/a/children-working-as-porters-killed-by-guards-on-iran-iraq-border/30338407.html
19. U.S. Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report- 2019: Iraq. Washington, D.C., June 20, 2019.
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20. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. March 30, 2020.
21. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. March 24, 2022.
22. The New Arab. The Iraq Report: Children bought and sold in ‘sex markets’ by Baghdad Mafia. August 16, 2017.
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23. Hassan, Sanar. When one of the women refuses, she is threatened... Displaced women in Iraqi camps are victims of sexual and political exploitation. July 2, 2020.
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24. United Nations Security Council. Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and armed conflict. June 21, 2021: S/2021/437.
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25. Amnesty International. The Condemned: Women and Children Isolated, Trapped, and Exploited in Iraq. April 2018: MDE14/8196/2018.
    https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1481962018ENGLISH.PDF
26. International Crisis Group. Exiles in Their Own Country: Dealing with Displacement in Post-ISIS Iraq. October 19, 2020.
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27. UNICEF. Iraq Humanitarian Situation Report, January-March 2021. April 2021.
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28. UNICEF. Deep inequality continues to shape the lives of children in Iraq. November 19, 2018.
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29. Government of Iraq. Labor Law No. 37 of 2015. Enacted: October 15, 2015.
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30. Government of Iraq. Labor Code, Law No. 71 of 1987, as amended by Coalition Provisional Authority Order 89 of May 30, 2004.
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31. Government of Iraq. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs' Instructions No. 19 of 1987 on Works Prohibited for Children. Enacted: November 9, 1987. Source on file.
32. Government of Iraq. Law to Combat Human Trafficking, No. 28 of 2012. Enacted: April 4, 2012.
    https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=94253&p_country=IRQ&p_count=232&p_classification=04&p_classcount=6
33. Government of Iraq. Penal Code, Law No. 111 of 1969. Enacted: July 19, 1969.
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34. Government of Iraq. Coalition Provisional Authority Order 22 on the Creation of A New Iraqi Army. Enacted: August 6, 2003.
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35. Government of Iraq. Law No. 22 of the Ministry of Education. Enacted: September 13, 2011. Source on file.
36. Government of Iraq. Compulsory Education Law No. 118 of 1976. Enacted: 1976.
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37. Kurdistan Regional Government. Law No 27 of 2007, Third Amendment to the Law of the Ministry of Education No. Act, 1992. Enacted: December 10, 2007.
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38. Government of Iraq. Constitution of Iraq. Enacted: 2005.
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39. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad official. E-mail communication to USDOL official. May 4, 2018.
40. Kurdistan Regional Government. The Kurdistan Region in Brief. (n.d.) Source on file.
41. U.S. Consulate- Erbil and U.S. Embassy- Baghdad officials. E-mail communication to USDOL official. July 10, 2019.
42. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. February 13, 2019.
43. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Official communication to USDOL official. June 30, 2022.
44. ILO modelled estimates and projections (ILOEST) – Population and labour force. Accessed February 16, 2022. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ Labor force data is modelled on a combination of demographic and economic explanatory variables by the ILO. Please see “Labor Law Enforcement: Sources and Definitions” in the Reference Materials section of this report.
45. U.S. Consulate- Erbil. Reporting. January 13, 2019.
46. United Nations Security Council. Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in Iraq. December 23, 2019: S/2019/984.
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48. UN. Reporting. 2022.
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50. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. January 13, 2017.
51. U.S. Embassy- Baghdad. Reporting. February 12, 2018.
52. Government of Iraq. Child Protection Policy. Enacted: 2017. Source on file.
53. Government of Iraq. National Plan on Combating Human Trafficking in Iraq. March 2019. Source on file.
54. ILO. Iraq launches activities to combat child labour as part of nationwide campaign. December 19, 2021.
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