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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Republic of Moldova (RATIFICATION: 2002)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the number of cases related to trafficking in persons dealt with by the courts. According to this information, in 2014, of the 151 cases of trafficking of persons recorded, involving 238 victims, 42 cases were sent to court and 34 defendants were convicted. Furthermore, during the first half of the year 2015, 82 cases, involving 110 victims of trafficking, were recorded, of which 27 were sent to court and 19 persons convicted. It observes, however, that the Government’s report does not provide specific data on trafficking of children. The Committee further notes from the Government’s report that with regard to trafficking of minors, the main countries of destination include the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Turkey, Kosovo and Italy. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of October 2013 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, expressed concern that the State party remains one of the main countries of origin of children trafficked abroad and the number of such children is continuously growing. The CRC also expressed concern about the lack of reliable statistics on the number of children trafficked for sexual purposes internationally and domestically (CRC/C/OPSC/MDA/CO/1, paragraph 18). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the elimination in practice of the sale and trafficking of children, including through the effective implementation of section 206 of the Criminal Code prohibiting the trafficking of children. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application, in practice, of this section, including the number of violations detected, investigations and prosecutions conducted and penal sanctions applied.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan for preventing and combating trafficking in human beings 2014–16 (NAP of 2014–16). The Committee notes from the European Commission document entitled Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2014 (EU document of 2014) that a new action plan on preventing and combating trafficking in persons was approved by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken within the framework of the NAP of 2014–16 on combating the trafficking of children and the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Trafficking of children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that according to the data from the National Unit for coordination of the National Referral System (NRS), in 2013 there were 13 child victims of trafficking (six girls and seven boys) and 545 potential child victims of trafficking, and in 2014 there were 11 child victims (six girls and five boys) and 218 potential child victims of trafficking who were provided with protection and assistance. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts for the removal, rehabilitation and social integration of child victims of trafficking. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of victims of trafficking under the age of 18 years who have been removed and provided assistance by the NRS.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Roma children. The Committee previously noted the various measures taken by the Government to improve school enrolment and reduce school drop-out rates among Roma children as well as social integration programmes. It noted from the Government’s report about the difficulties arising with regard to the statistical information on the number of Roma children subject to compulsory education and at the lack of disaggregated data on the number of Roma pupils. The Committee noted that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its concluding observations of 6 April 2011 (CERD/C/MDA/CO/8-9, paragraph 15) expressed its concern at the continued marginalization and precarious socio economic situation of members of the Roma community, and the discrimination with which they are faced in the fields of education, health and employment.

The Committee notes the information from the UNICEF Moldova report of 2014 that according to the Ministry of Education, there have been important advances in strengthening inclusive education for Roma children. In 2011, the Programme for the Development of Inclusive Education was adopted which provides for the education of Roma children. In 2011, an action plan to support the Roma population, with a focus on education, health and social services, was also adopted. Community mediators were put in place to facilitate social inclusion and increase Roma children’s access to education and other services. However, this report indicates that despite these achievements, many Roma children are still not attending school. In communities that are almost exclusively Roma, only half the number of children attend primary and secondary education, compared to almost 100 per cent of non-Roma children. Observing that Roma children are at an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to increase their access to free, basic and quality education and to reduce their school drop out rates so as to prevent them from engaging in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the concrete measures taken in this regard and the results achieved.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information that Law No. 169 of 2012 on amending certain provisions of the Labour Code and the Contravention Code, has increased the penalties for the violation of child labour provisions, including the prohibition of hazardous work. Accordingly, the Committee notes that 39 violations related to the engagement of young persons in prohibited works were detected by the labour inspectors in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, five and four such violations were detected, respectively. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention and on the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, and penalties applied. To the extent possible, the data provided should be disaggregated by age and sex.