National Workshop on Child Labour in Albania

CRCA

22 December 2005

The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania � CRCA and the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities organised today the national workshop 'Child Labour: National and Local Mechanisms for the Elimination of Child Labour in Albania'. The workshop was supported by the Olof Palme International Center, a long-term partner of CRCA.

The workshop, which was attended also by the vice-Minister of Labour, Mr. Kastriot Sulka, aimed at identifying the national and local existing mechanisms against child labour, analyse their profile, and seek the preparation of a work plan for year 2006 among the Government and civil society in Albania on how to improve the coordination of existing mechanisms.

'The Albanian Government has seen as its priority poor and marginalised children, including child labour - said in the opening of the workshop Mr. Sulka, vice Minister of Labour - In order to fight child labour we need to have better organised and stronger institutions to implement the laws. In the next few months several reforms will take place on issues of labour and social affairs. We are happy to include the civil society in this process.'

Child Labour is one of the major violations of children's rights in Albania. CRCA believes that more than 50 thousand children are involved in formal and non-formal labour, where the main employer of the child is the family. The Albanian Labour Code does not consider such form of child labour as labour, thus there is a lack of legislation in place to protect children.

'Time has come to say STOP to exploitation of children; Time has come to say STOP to any form of child labour in Albania - said Mr. Altin Hazizaj, Director of CRCA - The parents and people in Albania shall understand that they can't do whatever they want with their children. Children are individuals with rights and no one shall be allowed to use children as beggars, vendors, for trafficking or as slaves. Albania aims to become one day a member of European Union, but we will never be such a member without respecting children and their rights.'

The workshop was attended by major public institutions and NGO's in Albania at national and local level. During the second half of the workshop the participants worked in two groups to identify the national and local mechanisms, assess their main framework and review their functioning in terms of coordination, and finally draw a one-year plan for cooperation and coordination among the actors from the Government and civil society. Mass media showed a great interest on the Forum and during the recent days the issue of child labour has received a good coverage in printed and broadcasted media.