Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 6/2/1993 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 10/5/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
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| National Plan for Children (2002-2010) |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
UNICEF estimated that 17.7 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina were working in 2000.[555] Children occasionally assist their families with farm work and various jobs, and Roma children beg on the streets in Sarajevo.[556] The prostitution and trafficking of girls to, from, and within the country continues to be a problem.[557] Reports indicate that there are growing numbers of minors, primarily girls ages 14 to 18 years, who are trafficked from less economically developed Eastern Bosnia to more economically developed Western Bosnia and externally to Eastern and Western Europe for commercial sexual exploitation.[558]
Education is free and compulsory until age 15.[559] The right to education is guaranteed by the constitutions of the country’s two political entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS),[560] but each entity established compulsory education requirements in its own specific laws. [561] According to UNICEF, the primary school attendance rate was 94 percent in 2000.[562] However, a lack of reliable official statistics on enrollment, attendance, and level of school completion hinder efforts to ensure that all school age children receive an education.[563] Access to education remains limited for Roma children who frequently face a hostile learning environment due to harassment from other students, language barriers, segregated classrooms, and the inability to pay for the costs associated with schooling.[564] The quality of education in rural areas has deteriorated, and in some areas more girls are quitting primary school than in the past.[565] Tension among different ethnic communities and local policies favoring citizens in the ethnic majority continue to prevent minority or refugee children from attending school in these regions.[566] Efforts to address these issues, including implementation of the 2002 Interim Agreement on Accommodation of Specific Needs and Rights of Returnee Children, have led to modest improvements in a number of cases.[567]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
In both FBiH and RS, the Labor Law sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years, and minors between the ages of 15 to 18 must provide a valid health certificate in order to work.[568] Also, in both entities, children are prohibited from performing hazardous and overtime work.[569] Night work by minors is also banned, although temporary exemptions may be granted by the labor inspectorate in regards to machine breakdowns, the elimination of consequences of force majeure, and protection of the political entity.[570] In FBiH, an employer found in violation of the above prohibitions must pay a fine ranging from 2,000 to 14,000 convertible marks (USD 1,228 to 8,597).[571] In the RS, fines range from 1,000 to 10,000 convertible marks (USD 614 to 6,141) for hiring children younger than 15 years and requiring overtime work or hazardous work of a minor.[572] The fines are raised to 2,000 to 15,000 convertible marks (USD 1,228 to 9,212) for employers who allow underage workers to work at night.[573] The government does not keep statistics on child labor violations, nor are there separate child labor inspectors. While neither entity has developed a list of the worst forms of child labor, both the FBiH and RS follow the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the relevant labor laws in each sub-entity when conducting workplace inspections.[574]
The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina criminalizes trafficking in persons. Anyone taking part in the recruitment, transfer, or receipt of persons through the use of threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception shall be punished with imprisonment from 1 to 10 years. If the victim is a child under the age of 18, the perpetrator is to be imprisoned for a term of not less than 3 years.[575] Under the Criminal Codes of the two entities and the Brcko District, procuring a juvenile or seeking opportunity for illicit sexual relations with a juvenile is specifically prohibited.[576] On October 14, 2003, the Law on Movement and Stay of Foreigners and Asylum entered into force. The law’s implementing regulations address the provision of services to trafficking victims.[577] Despite these provisions, there have been allegations of both local law enforcement and international police facilitation of the trafficking of women.[578]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is stepping up its efforts to combat child trafficking, particularly in the areas of prosecution, law enforcement response, and anti-corruption measures.[579] The government established a State Prosecutor’s Office to help in fighting government corruption and involvement in trafficking and in February 2004, the local Interpol Deputy Director was arrested on corruption charges.[580] With government support, the National Coordinator’s Office collects information on and coordinates agency responses to trafficking. The National Coordinator’s Office is also providing training to law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors, and border agents on how to recognize and assist trafficking victims, including children, and to raise awareness on anti-trafficking laws.[581] The National Coordinator’s Working Group on Child Trafficking met for the first time this year and began to provide formal input to the National Coordinator on the issue of child trafficking.[582]
The government is collaborating with IOM and UNICEF to implement anti-trafficking assistance and prevention programs within the country. The IOM, in cooperation with government authorities, the UN and NGOs, is operating a 15-month project to protect and assist trafficking victims by providing them with transportation, housing, and financial assistance. The project targets women and children working in the commercial sex industry.[583] The IOM also trains government officials in counter-trafficking methods, law enforcement, and the proper treatment of victims.[584] In its project on protection from extreme forms of violence, UNICEF is working with the various government bodies dealing with children’s issues to assess how to better protect children at risk of being trafficked or who are trafficking victims.[585]
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