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The Committee takes note of the communication of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 29 August 2008.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee had observed the information provided by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania that there were children who fell victim to trafficking, sexual abuse and organized crime. It had also noted that, according to the Rapid Assessment of Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Albania, carried out under the supervision of the ILO–IPEC in 2003 (page 7), since the turn of the century, the reported number of children being trafficked across borders for labour and sexual exploitation had steadily increased in Albania. Moreover, according to the Government’s initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/11/Add.27 of 5 July 2004, paragraphs 269–272), about 4,000 children had migrated unaccompanied by their parents (3,000 to Greece and 1,000 to Italy). These children were often exposed to numerous risks, including maltreatment, physical and sexual abuse and other illicit activities. The Committee had noted that section 128/b of the Penal Code, as amended by Law No. 9188 of 2004, prohibits the trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, forced labour and slavery or any other form of exploitation. It had, therefore, observed that, although the trafficking of children for labour or sexual exploitation was prohibited by law, it remained an issue of concern in practice.

The Committee notes that, according to the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of 27 March 2006 (E/CN.4/2006/67/Add.2), although Albania has emerged since 2001 as a source country for persons trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour, in recent years, due to the intervention of the Albanian and Greek authorities and the increased awareness of the population, trends indicate a decline in children who fall victim to trafficking for labour exploitation (paragraphs 10 and 15). It notes, with interest, that the Government adopted the National Strategy and Plan of Action for the Fight Against Child Trafficking and the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking for the period 2005–07 (National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking), which is part of the Albanian National Strategy and Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2005–07. The National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking, provided by the Government, focuses on:

(a)   preventing child trafficking;

(b)   enforcing the legal provisions prohibiting child trafficking;

(c)   providing child victims of trafficking with rehabilitative services and repatriating them to their countries of origin; and

(d)   coordinating anti-child trafficking actors at the national, international, governmental and non-governmental central and local levels.

In particular, measures to prevent child trafficking include:

(a)   law enforcement and border control aspects;

(b)   awareness raising on the risks of child trafficking and the importance of compulsory education;

(c)   setting up procedures to reintegrate into school or insert, in vocational training programmes, children who drop out of school and are at risk of being trafficked; and

(d)   training on the prevention of child trafficking for the police, prosecutors, educational and welfare personnel, at national and local levels.

With regard to the measures to enforce the legal provisions prohibiting child trafficking, these mainly concern the improvement of mechanisms of detection, prosecution and punishment of child traffickers. They include:

(a)   the exchange of information on suspected cases of child trafficking between law enforcement agencies and social services;

(b)   training of police officers, prosecutors and judges to deal with child trafficking prosecutions; and

(c)   implementing a witness protection approach towards child victims of trafficking.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking on eliminating the internal and cross-border trafficking of children under 18 years for labour and sexual exploitation. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied for trafficking children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, as a result of the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings and Anti-Trafficking Office. The Committee had previously observed that an Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings began functioning in January 2002. It notes that this Inter-Ministerial Committee, together with the Child Trafficking Working Group and various ministries, was responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. National Strategy for Children. The Committee had previously observed that the National Strategy for Children (2001–05) defined the strategic objectives of the government policy and aimed at awareness raising with regard to the phenomenon of trafficking in children. It notes that, according to the Government report, the National Strategy for Children was extended for another five years (2005–10). It aims, amongst others, at combating child trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the National Strategy for Children 2005–10 on eliminating the trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking contains various measures to protect and rehabilitate child victims of trafficking and reintegrate them in their communities. These measures include:

(a)   improving the capacity of the National Reception Centre for Victims of Trafficking to receive and accommodate child victims of trafficking;

(b)   improving the professional level of social welfare staff responsible for the reception of child trafficking victims;

(c)   providing rehabilitative services, including education, vocational training, and health services to child victims of trafficking;

(d)   preparing child victims of trafficking to return to their families, if appropriate; and

(e)   regulating and funding the “Assisted Voluntary Return” procedures for child victims of trafficking in coordination with neighbouring countries and other European destination or transit countries for child trafficking (especially Greece and Italy).

The Committee also notes that, in the framework of the Albanian National Strategy and National Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings a “Cooperation Agreement to Establish a National Referral Mechanism for the Enhanced Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking” was signed between various ministries, the National Reception Centre for Victims of Human Trafficking, various NGOs and the IOM in Tirana. This agreement provides for various measures to identify, protect and rehabilitate child victims of trafficking and reintegrate them in their communities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been withdrawn from trafficking for labour and commercial sexual exploitation and reintegrated in their communities, following the implementation of the National Strategy and Plan of Action Against Child Trafficking 2005–07, as well as the Cooperation Agreement to Establish a National Referral Mechanism for the Enhanced Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Street children and child beggars. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the ITUC’s allegations that research conducted in 2007 on child begging in the towns of Tirana, Elbasan and Korca in Albania and in Thessaloniki in Greece, where Albanian children are also known to beg, showed that significant numbers of Albanian boys and girls are affected by begging. The research suggests that begging, whether forced or not, starts at a young age, as early as 4 or 5 years. The ITUC also indicates that the research identified a number of interrelated causes of child begging in Albania, including poverty and discrimination. All of the child beggars interviewed during the research came from the Roma or Egyptian communities. The ITUC therefore recommends that practical steps be undertaken to address the root causes of begging, particularly discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and poverty. The ITUC also urges the Government to provide an effective child protection safety net; assist children who work on the streets to overcome barriers to education and help them re-enter the school system; introduce and support programmes to reduce the poverty and inequality faced by Roma and Egyptian communities; and consider reducing the “demand” for child begging through discouraging people from giving to children who beg.

The Committee further notes that, according to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of 27 March 2006 (E/CN.4/2006/67/Add.2, paragraph 56, page 15), the most visible form of child labour in Albania is street work. Children working on the streets are mainly boys employed in small trade and services, transport and street construction. Girls are used for begging and washing cars. It notes that one of the target groups of the Strategic Framework for Action on Child Labour in Albania, developed in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Programme “Development of a national programme on elimination of child labour in Albania”, is children who work on the streets.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that exploitation of children in the streets of Albania has been favoured by the lack of a national mechanism for the protection of children, the poor enforcement of the right to education for all children and the insignificant punishment of child exploiters. In this regard, both the Government and the ITUC indicate that, in January 2008, the Criminal Code was amended to include the exploitation of children for begging as a separate criminal offence. Furthermore, in May 2008, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Chances drafted a framework law for the protection of children’s rights which aims at regulating the national mechanism for child protection. The Government also indicates that, on 30 July 2008, Decision No. 1104 of the Council of Ministers endorsed the policy document on the “Custody of children in need”, which comprises an important platform for the application of new alternative services for children in need, including children forced into labour, by placing these children in foster families when the parents cannot exert their parental responsibilities. In this context, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how far the policy of criminalizing the exploitation of children for begging and the policy of finding foster families for children lead to the separation of Roma and Egyptian children from their families and prevents the reintegration of those children with their families.

The Committee further notes that Children’s Rights Protection Units, established in nine municipalities, identify children who need protection, including street children and manage those situations with the assistance of a multidisciplinary team by conducting evaluations of the children identified and their families and coordinating the protection of these cases. The Government also indicates that work has been done to strengthen the Community Advisory Groups in the Roma and Egyptian communities in order to prevent child exploitation and serve as referral systems for the protection of children. Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, since September 2007, all unregistered Roma children can attend schools across the country and that, in the meantime, a special strategy for Roma children has been drafted and is being implemented.

The Committee expresses its deep concern at the grave situation of children begging on the streets in Albania. It considers that children living or working on the streets are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children found working in the streets and then rehabilitated and integrated as a result of the “Custody of children in need” programme, the Children’s Rights Protection Units and  the Community Advisory Groups. It also requests the Government to supply a copy of the special strategy for Roma children and to provide information on the impact of this strategy for Roma children from working in the streets. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the infringements reported with regard to the new penal provision on the prohibition of the exploitation of children for begging as well as on the number of prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied.

Article 8. International cooperation. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking provides for measures to cooperate at the international and regional levels in order to prevent child trafficking. These measures involve:

(a)   reviewing relevant bilateral law enforcement agreements between Albania and countries of the region for combating child trafficking;

(b)   negotiating new cooperation agreements with neighbouring countries with a view to detecting trafficked children and sharing data on child trafficking;

(c)   intensifying cross-border cooperation against trafficking with the border police of neighbouring countries; and

(d)   cooperating with the national child protection structures, international organizations and NGOs in countries of destination of trafficked children.

The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of these measures on combating the cross-border trafficking of children for labour and sexual exploitation.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the National Strategy and Plan of Action against Child Trafficking 2005–07 provides for the creation of a comprehensive and coordinated system for collecting, analysing and disseminating data on child trafficking. In view of the recent creation of a comprehensive and coordinated system for collecting, analysing and disseminating data on child trafficking, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of available data on the trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour and sexual exploitation.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other points.