ALBANIA: 2007 UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR

UNCLAS TIRANA 001059

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DOL/ILAB for Tina McCarter
DRL/IL for Tu Dang

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID AL
SUBJECT: ALBANIA: 2007 UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR

Ref: A) STATE 158223 B) 06 TIRANA 01259


1. Summary: Post's 2007 report on Albania's worst forms of child
labor will focus on changes and developments over the last year and
will not repeat reporting in last year's cable (ref B). Albania
continues to make progress in addressing the issue of child labor
and child trafficking, but as reported in previous years, a lack of
funding and adequate criminal deterrents keep progress on a slow
track. The annual EU progress report, released in October 2007,
commends Albania for its efforts in this area. Draft amendments to
the Penal Code set fines and prison sentences for violations of
child labor laws. End Summary.


2. Paragraph numbers below correspond to sections in ref A.

9A) What are the laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of
child labor?

No new laws or regulations were enacted concerning child labor in
the past year. While the worst forms of child labor are violations
of the labor code, there are no civil or criminal penalties for
violators. New amendments to the Penal Code awaiting Parliamentary
approval will criminalize these violations and will also penalize
child abuse, currently not covered in any legislation.

9B) What regulations exist for the implementation and enforcement of
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor?

At the present time, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) has authority to
inspect only legal entities, i.e. registered companies. The large,
informal economy and family-oriented enterprises are not within the
MOL's mandate. However, recently drafted amendments to the Penal
Code will provide inspectors with additional powers and authority.

Draft Article 128c of the Penal Code specifies the following
penalties:

-- exploitation of a minor child for labor or forced services,
including begging (by parent or legal guardian) - up to one year in
prison and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 leke (one US dollar = 82
leke);
-- if the exploitation is done by a third party - up to three years
in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 leke; and
-- if the exploitation causes harm to the health of the child or
death - three to seven years in prison.

While this is a start, the very low fines, short prison sentences
and low probability of standing trial are not expected to deter this
profitable criminal activity.

The MOL has labor inspection offices in major cities, including 50
inspectors in Tirana. However, there are no inspectors specializing
in child labor.

9C) Are there social programs specifically designed
to prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of
child labor?

The MOL Child Labor Unit, staffed by Shkelqesa Manaj, was
established in 2004 with funding for two years by the ILO. The Unit
is now wholly funded by the GOA.

The Child Labor Monitoring System (CLMS) was established by the MOL
in February 2007. Child Labor Monitoring (CLM) Local Action
Committees (LACs) have been set up in Tirana, Berat, and Korca and
are composed of the heads of municipalities, labor inspectors,
social welfare officers, education officers, trade unions,
employment officers, and community police.

The LACs:
-- identify child laborers and identify risks to which they are
exposed;
-- refer them to services for rehabilitation and/or provide them
with risk reduction support as a temporary approach; and
-- track them to verify that they have been removed and/or that the
risk has been eliminated and that they have access to satisfactory
alternatives.

Child Protection Units (CPU),dealing with broader social issues
surrounding child exploitation, abuse, and neglect, were also
established during the past year. NGO projects such as the
Transnational Action Project Against Child Trafficking (TACT),with
the overall goal of creating mechanisms for local governments to
identify and respond to cases of child exploitation. CPUs have been
set up in Tirana, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Pogradec and Korca.

9D) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the
elimination of the worst forms of child labor?

The main pillars of the GOA's policy framework are:

-- the National Strategy for Social Economic Development (previously
the PRSP);
-- the EU Stabilization and Association Process (SAP); and
-- the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The PRSP, MDGs and SAP are complementary and mutually re-enforcing
on child labor issues in the methodologies that they use and in the
time tables that they establish.

National Strategy documents relating to child labor include:

-- The National Strategy for Social and Economic Development
(NSSED),published in 2004, is the fundamental document which
contains government policies to alleviate poverty, guarantee
economic development, and attain the development goals for the new
millennium. The planned objectives and measures cover a number of
issues related to child labor.

-- The National Strategy for Children (2005 - 2010) on child
protection provides for raising awareness about child labor, setting
up municipal and communal structures for protecting children at
risk, improvement of legislation concerning children and
coordination between central and local governments, NGOs and
international organizations to fight child trafficking.

-- The National Strategy on Trafficking in Children (2005-2007),
including the National Plan of Action, constitutes a comprehensive
framework for relevant institutions, with activities on awareness
raising, training and capacity building, law enforcement
cooperation, victim protection, return and reintegration,
legislative reform, and prevention.

-- The Strategy for Employment and Vocational Training (February
2003) has created a network of private employment agencies and aims
to improve vocational training institutions and provide employment
opportunities to marginalized communities&QQ

,- Dhe Strategy for Development o& Qg#i!d S%r6acer (M`rbh 2003)
would increase social prot%c4a/n for children, decentralize and
widen the variety of sgcial services, and develop alternatives to
institutionalization through SOS villages, shelters and foster
families in cooperation with NGOs; and

-- the Strategy on Social Inclusion targets child labor and gives
priority to the progressive elimination of the worst forms of child
labor.

While education is compulsory through the ninth grade, police have
no mandate to take action against children or their parents for
violations. The MOL is reviewing a proposal which would withhold
welfare payments from those families whose children do not attend
school.

9E) Is the country making continual progress toward eliminating the
worst forms of child labor?

As a result of the Child Labor Monitoring System (CLMS) (Paragraph
9C),300 working children and children at risk (142 boys and 158
girls) have been identified and referred to LACs, out of which 77
children (39 boys and 38 girls) have been withdrawn from
exploitation as a result of the Action Program and 223 children (110
boys and 113 girls) have been prevented from exploitation.

Child labor is and has been most commonly found in the construction
and agriculture industries, as well as family workers in car washes
and as street vendors and beggars.

Children are trafficked mostly for forced labor which includes
forced begging, selling of small items like cigarettes and chewing
gum, and petty crime. It is assumed that a portion of children
trafficked for labor are also sexually exploited, but no formal
investigation has been conducted to determine the extent of their
sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking to large cities in
Albania is increasing. According to interlocutors, internal
trafficking is increasing partly because Albanian children are being
pushed out of their traditional markets in neighboring countries as
child trafficking from countries like Kosovo and Macedonia
increases. The ban on power boats in 2006 has reduced significantly
child trafficking to Italy, but Greece remains a main destination
country.


3. Sources for this update include: Shkelqesa Manaj - Director of
MOL's Child Labor Unit; Etleva Vertopi - Director of the ILO-IPEC
office; the May 31, 2007 MOL report to the ILO as required by
Convention 182; USAID anti-trafficking advisor Kelly Cronen; and
Thierry Agagliate - director of the NGO "Terre des hommes."

WITHERS