MONTENEGRO UPHOLDING CHILD LABOR COMMITMENTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000020 SIPDIS DRL/ILCSR FOR SARAH MORGAN, G/TIP FOR LUIS CDEBACA, DOL/ILAB FOR LEYLA STROTKAMP, RACHEL RIGBY AND TINA MCCARTER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI MW SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO UPHOLDING CHILD LABOR COMMITMENTS REF: 09 STATE 131997 ¶1. Summary. Exploitive child labor is not a significant problem in Montenegro. Despite having a solid framework of social and labor legislation, the Government of Montenegro (GoM) could do more to protect at-risk Roma children from labor exploitation but often lacks the resources to do so. Generally speaking, the GoM is upholding its international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. End Summary. Background -------------- ¶2. Montenegro, with a population of approximately 640,000 (of which 125,000 are under age 15),does not face a significant child labor problem. Overall, there is nearly universal enrollment in Montenegro for primary school children (approximately 98 percent),with secondary school education numbers also high (90 percent.) Primary education is mandatory and free of charge. ¶3. The minimum age of employment is 15 years old. Children under 18 are not permitted to work in jobs that involve particularly difficult physical work, overtime and night work, underground or underwater work, or in jobs that "may have a harmful effect or involve increased risk for their health and lives." The Montenegrin Labor Law, passed in 2008, provides for monetary penalties for violation of these provisions, with fines ranging from 10 to 300 times the minimum wage. The GoM abolished obligatory military service in 2006, and the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into the Montenegrin military is 18 years. ¶4. The Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is responsible for the enforcement of labor laws, including those protecting children from exploitation in the workplace. The Ministry has 40 inspectors covering labor issues, although there are no resources devoted exclusively to investigating child labor. There were more than 10,000 labor investigations conducted during 2008, but none uncovered evidence of child labor. Conditions for Roma Children -------------- ¶5. There is, however, a high incidence of child labor within the Roma community, which, according to the 2003 census, comprises 0.42 percent of Montenegro's total population. Roma in Montenegro, as throughout the region, face difficult living conditions and discrimination in education, healthcare, social protection and employment. Unemployment among Roma is high -- 43 percent among men and 95 percent among women -- and some 53 percent of Roma officially live in poverty. ¶6. While free primary education is provided by the Montenegrin government, families are responsible for purchasing books, school supplies, and providing transportation. Consequently, less than one third of all Roma children attend primary school, and, according to one local NGO, 50 percent of Roma children drop out after primary school. Roma children frequently work in the informal sector, selling merchandise on the street, washing cars, or engaging in organized begging to provide financial support to their families. ¶7. To help address this situation, the GoM has created an "Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015" and adopted the "Strategy for the Improvement of the Status of the RAE (Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian) Population in Montenegro" in ¶2007. The strategy is intended to improve living standards for Roma and better integrate them into Montenegrin society. The GoM allocated 400,000 Euros for the first year of the strategy's implementation, and has pledged to allocate 0.2 percent of its total budget each year to finance activities prescribed by the strategy. However, the GoM has consistently failed to implement these laws with respect to Roma children. ¶8. In 2004, the GoM, UNICEF, and several Roma NGOs implemented the "Roma Education Initiative in Montenegro," which seeks to establish a comprehensive model of integration of Roma children into the formal education system in Montenegro. While Roma rates of education are still low, the initiative is a step in the right direction toward greater Roma integration into Montenegrin society. A Good Legislative Framework... -------------- ¶9. Since becoming an independent country in 2006, Montenegro has ratified all international agreements and treaties which were concluded by the former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, including ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The GoM adopted its Strategy Paper on Poverty Reduction and PODGORICA 00000020 002 OF 002 Social Inclusion in July 2007. The strategy is focused on four essential categories: health, education, social protection, and employment. To directly address child protection, the "National Strategy for Social and Child Protection 2008-2012" was created to assist with the development of institutions to ensure the essential rights of most vulnerable groups of society. ...But Weak Enforcement -------------- ¶10. National legislation on health and safety at work has yet to be fully brought in line with European standards. The Law on Labor Inspection was adopted in December 2008, but the capacity of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, including its Labor Inspection Department, remains weak. ¶11. A Deputy Ombudsman for Children's Rights was appointed in July 2009, and the Council on Child Rights has begun to meet on an ad hoc basis. However, there is still a gap between the goals of the national strategy on development of child and social protection and implementation in practice. The Law on Child and Social Protection (2005) has not yet been brought into line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with international practice, and the Council on Child Rights has no systematic work program. The capacity to monitor children's rights remains weak. ¶12. The GoM has not made a specific public statement or commitment to eradicate exploitive child labor. It has, however, continued to sponsor public awareness campaigns on trafficking and began funding for a trafficking victims shelter in April 2006. ¶13. COMMENT. Montenegro has adequate laws that meet international standards to discourage child labor. It is generally effective in deterring child labor among the general population, and we are not aware of any allegations of exploitive child labor in the country. However, the GoM should be more active and effective in assisting its most vulnerable population -- Roma children. While the GoM has developed an action plan to assist and integrate Roma into the general population, more resources and attention must be focused on this task, as they are the children most at risk of exploitation. END COMMENT. LOWENTHAL