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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

National Action for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor in Romania

Region/Country

EUROPE/ Romania

Project Duration

September 30, 1999 – September 30, 2003 (revised)

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 1999: USD 618,056 (revised)

Problem to be Addressed

Child labor in rural and urban areas is a problem in Romania.  School truancy is increasing, quantitative data on the situation of child labor is lacking, and legal instruments to address child labor are deficient.

Results

The project withdrew 398 children and prevented 1,187 children from the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) in urban and rural areas, including street children, in Bucharest, Iasi, Craiova and other districts.

Project Objectives

Contribute to the prevention and progressive elimination of child labor and the related phenomenon of street children in Romania

Intermediate objectives include:

  • Provide assistance to the Government of Romania in: a) updating and approving the National Policy and Plan of Action on Child Labor developed during the national seminar in March 1998; b) harmonizing its child labor legislation with international standards; and c) developing its institutional capacity to deal with the problems of child labor;
  • Change attitudes and perceptions about child labor in Moldova and southern Romania, resulting in the effective prevention of child labor and the rehabilitation of a selected number of street children; and
  • Develop new approaches to improve the quality of educational and other protective services, catering to the needs of Roma working street children and their families by taking into account their specific needs in terms of socio-cultural and psychological characteristics and living circumstances.

Summary of Activities
  • Promoted the development of the government’s institutional capacity to deal with child labor;
  • Facilitated government efforts to harmonize legislation with international standards and to update the National Plan of Action on Child Labor; and
  • Established pilot projects to rehabilitate a selected number of street children, taking into account their specific circumstances and living conditions. Children provided project services were removed from work or prevented from entering work and provided educational opportunities.

Grantee

International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Implementing Partners

Save the Children Romania (Salvati Copiii); Step-by-Step Center for Education and Professional Development; Romanian Women Journalists Association; Equilibrium Association; ECHOSOC Foundation; Center for Legal Resources; Confederation of Romanian Democratic Trade Unions; Department for Child Protection-National Agency for Child Protection and Adoption; National Commission for Statistics (NCS) NISES (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies)

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843