Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified ILO Convention 138 2/16/1998 |
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| Ratified ILO Convention 182 8/02/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan (Trafficking) |
X |
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
UNICEF estimated that 31.7 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Albania were working in 2000. The rate of child work is higher in rural areas than cities.[106] Children, especially from the Roma community, work on the streets as beggars and vendors. Children can also be found laboring as farmers, shoe cleaners, drug runners, and textile and shoe factory workers.[107]
The trafficking of Albanian children as young as 6 years old[108] to Western Europe for prostitution and other forms of exploitive labor remains a problem.[109] The Ministry of Public Order estimated that within an 8-year period (1992-2000), some 4,000 children were trafficked from Albania, mostly for domestic work, begging and agriculture.[110] A 2003 study of trafficking victims who received services at the “Hearth” Psycho-Social Center revealed that 21 percent were minors between the ages of 14 and 18 years.[111] Boys and girls are trafficked to Italy and Greece to participate in organized begging rings and forced labor, including work in agriculture and construction.[112] In January 2003, Terre des hommes reported that the majority of children trafficked to Greece were sent with their family's knowledge to work for remuneration. In addition, the report found that 95 percent of children trafficked belong to the Roma ethnic minority or the “Egyptian” community.[113] There have been reports that children are tricked or abducted from families or orphanages and then sold to prostitution or pedophilia rings.[114] Children who are returned to the Albanian border from Greece are oftentimes at high risk of being re-trafficked.[115] According to the 2003 Terre des hommes report, trafficking of Albanian children specifically to Greece appears to be on a decline.[116] Internal trafficking, on the other hand, is reported to be rising, with increasing numbers of children in the capital of Tirana falling victim to prostitution and other forms of exploitation.[117]
Education is free and compulsory for children ages 6 to 14 years.[118] In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate was 106.6 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 97.2 percent.[119] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Albania, though UNICEF reports that the primary school attendance rate for children ages 7 to 14 years was 90 percent.[120] The Ministry of Education and Sciences reported that the dropout rate from 1999 to 2000 was approximately 3 percent, although local children’s groups believe the number is higher.[121]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code sets the minimum age of employment at 16 years. Minors ages 14 to 18 years may seek employment during school holidays, but are only permitted to work in light jobs, which are determined by the Council of Ministers.[122] Labor Act No. 7724 prohibits night work by children younger than 18 years of age and limits their work to 6 hours per day.[123] The Constitution forbids forced labor by any person, except in cases of execution of judicial decision, military service, or for service during state emergency or war.[124] The Labor Code also prohibits forced or compulsory labor.[125]
The Labor Inspectorate within the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing the country’s labor and child labor laws as they pertain to registered businesses. Labor inspections of factories carried out in the first half of 2004 found only 0.01 percent of the employees were underage.[126] The Criminal Code prohibits prostitution, and the penalty is more severe when a girl minor is solicited for prostitution.[127] A 2001 amendment to the Criminal Code set penalties for trafficking, including 15 to 20 years imprisonment for trafficking of minors. While trafficking prosecutions are rare, the government took steps to improve enforcement, including a number of arrests of traffickers, investigations of police involvement in trafficking, and the establishment of an Organized Crime Task Force to improve its handling of high profile trafficking cases. In addition, the government created a Child Trafficking Working Group to focus special attention on child victims of trafficking.[128] The government has also improved its enforcement and interdiction capabilities at border crossings and at ports resulting in several arrests of child traffickers.[129]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
A number of national strategies, including the Government of Albania’s 2001-2006 National Strategy for Children, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and Strategies on Education and Social Services, have integrated child labor concerns.[130] The Ministry of Labor’s Child Labor Unit provides training to labor inspectors on identification and monitoring of child labor.[131] The government also has in place an Anti-Trafficking Strategy that, among other issues, focuses on child trafficking and prosecution of those involved. The main focus of the strategy is law enforcement, prevention, and protection, and includes the development of the Vlora Anti-Trafficking Center and the Linza Center.[132]
Officially opened in 2003, the government’s Linza Center offers reintegration services to trafficking victims, including children. Originally managed by the IOM, the center is now the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.[133] Albania is also part of a joint declaration with other Southeastern European countries to better assist victims of trafficking.[134] Despite these efforts, most of the direct services for child victims of trafficking continue to be provided by the NGO community.[135]
The government is also participating in a 3-year USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC project to combat the trafficking of children for labor and sexual exploitation. The project is working in partnership with the Government of Albania and local organizations.[136] IOM is conducting prevention and reintegration activities in collaboration with the government, including training for law enforcement, media campaigns, teacher training and development of education materials, and the provision of educational, training and other services to trafficking victims.[137] UNICEF is working with the Government of Albania and local NGOs to combat child trafficking through prevention, protection and repatriation measures.[138] USAID is providing support to a project titled “Transnational Action Against Child Trafficking,” through the Swiss-based NGO Terre des hommes, in which Albanian government officials and NGO representatives work with their counterparts in Greece and Italy to identify trafficking routes, cooperate on repatriation of trafficked children, and improve care for trafficked children and their families before and after repatriation.[139]
In June 2002, the Government of Albania became eligible to receive funding from the World Bank and other donors under the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, which aims to provide all children with a primary school education by the year 2015.[140]
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