ARMENIA: NO SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORST FORMS OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001416 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL, DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER, DRL/IL FOR TU DANG SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI AM SUBJECT: ARMENIA: NO SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR IN 2007 REF: A) STATE 158223 B) 06 YEREVAN 1707 C) 06 YEREVAN 1716 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) In 2007 there were no significant developments to report with respect to worst forms of child labor in Armenia. As previously reported (ref B),Armenia has adopted all international agreements on children's rights, as well as a list of occupations considered hazardous for children. Both the Constitution and the Labor Code forbid bonded or extraneous labor. The problem of exploitative child labor is not significant in Armenia. A 2007 nationwide survey by the Armenian Association of Social Workers found that 3.8 percent of children in 1,066 polled families were employed, a number that showed no increase from a 2004 figure reported in the National Statistical Survey. Government-run regional Child Protection Units are gradually becoming more effective and have marked significant progress in detecting unregistered children. In late 2006, the government prosecuted a labor trafficking case involving a minor, and conducts awareness raising activities targeted at potential labor migrants, including children. END SUMMARY. ¶2. The following information updates previously reported material provided in Ref B. A) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child labor: -- There have been no changes in legislation with respect to child labor/employment in 2007 (Ref B). -- Article 17 of the Labor Code provides that the minimum age for children's employment is 14; and that written parental or guardian permission, as well as a written contract, are mandatory conditions for employing children aged 14-16. Moreover, children from 14-16 years old can work only 24 hours per week, and children from 16-18 years old only 36 hours (Article 140). -- According to the Labor Code, children under 18 are prohibited from work in hazardous conditions (Article 257). However, provisions of the law were violated in a few cases. (See below.). The Governmental Decree N-2308, "On approving the List of occupations considered heavy or dangerous for persons under 18, pregnant women and women in care of children under 1 year," defines those hazardous conditions. The decree took effect February 2, ¶2006. Valery Danielyan, Director of the Legal Department of the State Labor Inspectorate (SLI),maintains the decree actually meets the condition set by ILO Convention 182 on developing the list of occupations considered to be among the worst forms of child labor. According to the ILO National Correspondent in Armenia, however, the ILO has yet to analyze and form an opinion on this subject, as it has yet to receive from Armenia any progress reports on implementation of Convention 182. -- The Armenian Constitution prohibits forced and compulsory labor, including by children. The law proscribes trafficking in persons and considers child trafficking an aggravated circumstance, which is punishable by 3 to 15 years imprisonment. Sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 is punishable with up to 2 years imprisonment, and involving underage children in prostitution or pornography can result in 5 years imprisonment. The law gives responsibility to the government to protect children from criminal activities, prostitution, and begging. Armenian males are registered for military conscription at 16, but are not subject to compulsory military service or voluntary recruitment until 18. B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor: -- The SLI and law-enforcement bodies are in charge of discovering and prosecuting instances of exploitative child labor. According to the director of SLI's legal department, the SLI has yet to receive a single complaint of child exploitation since its establishment in March 2005, and hence has not had to conduct any inspections. Since the problem remains very insignificant in Armenia, SLI has neither assigned its inspectors to work only on child labor issues nor provided training to its inspectors on child labor exploitation issues. -- According to Naira Avetisyan, UNICEF Child Protection Officer, the government-run Child Protection Units (CPUs) that were established in 2005 in all of Armenia's regions are gradually becoming efficient in their functions. Among other things, CPUs YEREVAN 00001416 002 OF 003 detect, register, and refer vulnerable children to appropriate care agencies. While UNICEF believes CPUs could become even more engaged overall, it is encouraged that the units have become quite efficient in detecting unregistered births and children, and helping register these cases. (Note: One of the most vulnerable groups, these unregistered children can subsequently become easy prey for traffickers. End note.) C) Social programs specifically designed to prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor: -- The Government continues to maintain special state-run schools, which also include schools for children from poor families (Ref A). -- According Astghik Minasyan, director of the Social Support Department at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the government continues to provide various types of benefits to disadvantaged families. In particular, the government continues to issue the one-time allowance of 20,000 AMD (currently about USD 66) to needy families for children entering the first grade. This money is intended for the purchase of clothing and school supplies, and in 2007 approximately 10,000 households received this allowance. (Note: The two-fold decrease in the number of recipients over the past year is explained by the fact that there were twice as many first graders in 2006, the result of a 2006 educational reform that lowered the first grade age to 5 years old. Accordingly, in 2006 there were twice as many first graders - both 5 and 6 year olds who had never been to school - as is normally the case. End note.) There is also an average monthly pension provided to poor families that amounts to approximately 17,500 AMD (or USD 58). The total depends on the number of children and area of residence of the family. This pension is provided to approximately 125,000 households. D) Comprehensive policies aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labor: -- There are no new developments to report from the reporting period. The issue of child labor is not addressed by the government's 2003-2015 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. -- The minimum age for completing educational requirements in Armenia varies, according to the age when a child first enrolls in school. Generally, primary and basic education is free and compulsory through age 14. E) Continued progress in eliminating the worst forms of child labor: -- In 2004 the National Statistical Service (NSS) had conducted a survey entitled "Labor Force and Child Labor in Armenia," located at the following address: http://www.armstat.am/Eng/Publications/2005/ ashx_het_ang/index.html. This is the only such survey conducted by Armenian government agencies. -- In 2007, the Armenian Association of Social Workers (AASW) - funded by UNICEF - conducted a nationwide survey to gauge underage employment in Armenia. While the release of the final report is expected by the end of 2007 or early 2008, Mira Antonyan, president of AASW, shared some preliminary data: -- The AASW interviewed 1066 households located throughout Armenia's 11 regions, and found that 76 children (or 3.8 percent of all the children discovered in these households) were employed, the majority of whom (81.6 percent) were boys. Two-thirds of these children were 10-16 years old, one-third were 16-18 years old. According to Antonyan, however, this figure does not include a significant number of children involved in agricultural work (particularly in rural areas) or other work carried out for their families in their households. The survey reaffirmed the widely held opinion that household-related work (either agricultural or household chores) is considered a normal, essential part of children's upbringing, and an integral part of Armenian culture. -- According to Antonyan, in none of the 76 above-mentioned cases was a written contract or written parental or guardian consent established between child and employer. All of the agreements were orally made, and there were some anecdotal cases when the employer failed to pay the promised wages to the child. According to Antonyan, the law is violated because it does not conform to the reality on the ground in Armenia. She said that the main fault of the legislation lay in its aim to restrict child employment; she said a law that aimed to protect the rights of children compelled to work for various reasons, such as poverty or early departure from YEREVAN 00001416 003 OF 003 the household, would better address the current situation on the ground. Such a law would also encourage employers to provide good working conditions and enable the government to subsequently monitor compliance with the law. -- The majority of these 76 children worked either in agriculture (rural areas),or in trade and construction as laborers or loaders (urban areas). More than half of these children worked 6 or 7 days per week. The working hours varied, ranging from 4 to 12 hours per day, and some were exposed to harsh conditions, including exposure to various gas or construction dust, and direct sunlight or cold weather over long hours. The majority of the children performed seasonal or random work. The payment for the work ranged from 1000 to 2500 AMD (approximately USD 3-8) per day. According to the survey, the vast majority of these children had to work in order to sustain their families, who were living in severe poverty. -- Apart from the UNICEF-funded survey, the AASW independently conducted in-depth case studies of 4 dozen working children (not included in the 76 found in the survey). In many of these cases, children performed work under hazardous conditions, including the collection of metal waste from dumps, cannibalizing and dismantling of abandoned construction sites, and even a few cases of mining. There were cases when some of the children involved in these activities sustained injuries, and others who experienced negative long-term effects to their health. Moreover, according to Antonyan, absenteeism from school was high among these working children, which jeopardized future employment opportunities. In some cases children performed the labor alongside their parents, but in some cases the parents sent their children to work with the expectation that their wages would go to the family. -- The AASW has already presented the results of the survey to government officials. The AASW view is that while the cases remain statistically insignificant, they are nevertheless alarming. Post queried government officials on this topic, and found they do not share AASW's alarm. They point instead to the low 3.8 percent figure and view it as a positive indicator that child labor is not a significant problem in Armenia. -- There have been no registered cases of children working in slavery or practices similar to slavery. In December 2006, however, a court in the city of Gyumri (Armenia's second largest city) ruled on the first - and so far only - registered labor trafficking case (ref C). In that case, three victims, one of whom was a 16-year old boy, were taken to Russia to work in construction, under conditions similar to slavery. The court sentenced the trafficker to five years of imprisonment and ruled for a financial compensation for the victims. -- Itinerant labor migration to Russia has become a well-established phenomenon for a significant number of Armenian males, including boys. To combat illegal migration and labor trafficking, in 2006 and 2007 the Migration Agency (under the Ministry of Territorial Administration) has been conducting awareness campaigns with the assistance of the Russian Migration Agency in Armenia (RMA). Targeting this group of migrants as well as their families, the Migration Agency has organized presentations throughout Armenia's regions about Russian migration laws, and the dangers of illegal migration and trafficking. On November 7, 2007, the Migration Agency signed an MOU with UNDP to launch a local information campaign that will introduce the concept of "due diligence" services offered at newly established registration centers. The registration centers, or "Safe Labor Migrants Support Points," as they are called in UNDP's "Travel Safe Pre-Migration Registration and Due Diligence Inquiry Program," will be established in Yerevan, Gyumri and Artashat, and provide information to labor migrants designed to promote their safe employment abroad. PENNINGTON