US embassy cable - 04AMMAN277

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Identifier:	04AMMAN277
Wikileaks:	View 04AMMAN277 at Wikileaks.org
Origin:	Embassy Amman
Created:	2004-01-13 06:59:00
Classification:	UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Tags:	ELAB PHUM SOCI PGOV JO
Redacted:	This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.

UNCLAS AMMAN 000277 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, SOCI, PGOV, JO 
SUBJECT: U.S.-FUNDED ILO CHILD LABOR PROJECT GETS UNDERWAY 
 
Sensitive but unclassified--please protect accordingly. Not 
for publication on the Internet. 
 
1. (U) The Ministry of Labor announced on January 5 the 
commencement of a one milion USD ILO project to combat child 
labor in Jordan. To be undertaken with the cooperation of the 
Ministries of Education and Social Development, it aims to 
rehabilitate working children under 18 years of age, helping 
their families earn a livelihood and send the children to 
school. The project hopes to reach 500 families over a three 
year period. 
 
2. (SBU) Ministry of Labor Child Labor Unit (CLU) head Nihaya 
Dabdoub stressed to poloff that, while this is an ILO 
project, under the Ministry's MOU with the ILO, the CLU and 
the National Steering Committee on Child Labor will be 
working in close cooperation with the ILO. The CLU aims to 
take over the project financially and administratively at the 
end of 2006, and its functions are already incorporated in 
the draft National Strategy to Combat Child Labor, expected 
to be implemented beginning this year. 
 
3. (SBU) ILO Regional Director Taleb Rifai confirmed that the 
Ministry of Labor approved the selection of project head 
Mohammed Tarawneh in December. He also indicated that the 
project has identified facilities it will begin using soon. 
(Note: The project will share a building with the DOL-funded 
ILO project on social dialogue. End note.) He stated that the 
project has been on track for a few months; the timing of the 
announcement was a function of his being in town and other 
logistical issues. Rifai noted, however, the difficulties the 
project had faced in obtaining a mutually agreeable project 
leader. 
 
4. (SBU) COMMENT: This is the second USDOL-funded project in 
Jordan, the country where the ILO now has the most project 
dollars at work within the region. It addresses a need that 
the GOJ, ILO and the USG have mutually identified. 
GNEHM