Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that the arrival of so many Syrians has its impact on Jordanians working in the informal labor market, both in terms of competition for jobs and downward pressure on wages. This reality, he said, created social tensions in communities that are already facing high unemployment and difficult economic conditions. Addressing the International Labor Organization's 103rd session in Geneva today, the Prime Minister said that the Syrian refugees also have increased the problem of child labor, where according to our official data, they account for about 70 percent of all child labor in Jordan. "We in Jordan recognize the importance of addressing this most inhuman and unacceptable denial of basic human rights and dignity for children," Ensour said. "We fully accept our responsibility to give children the right to be raised in an environment free of oppression and poverty". The Syrian refugee crisis, he said, is not of Jordan's making. "It is an international problem which has been imposed on my country, leaving in its wake unprecedented social, financial and economic instability and turmoil," Ensour added. The time is overdue for the international community to assume its full responsibility in this regard, he affirmed.
