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

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Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in street situations. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the problem of children in street situations is still current. According to the Government, these children do not live in the streets, but the economic situation of their families and lack of parental care is such that they beg, wander and work on the streets. The largest percentage of children found in the streets are Romas, followed by children of Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish and other nationalities. Their most common activities include collecting objects and other small work-related activities, but also begging, theft and prostitution.

The Government shares information on the measures taken to address this issue. Firstly, it is taking measures to improve the well-being of children generally, which includes children in street situations, through a comprehensive reform of the social and child protection systems 2018–19, which includes the preparation of a new Law on Social Protection and amendments to the Law on the Protection of Children, aimed at redesigning the social protection system and reducing poverty, especially child poverty. The Government is also taking measures to protect children in street situations by helping their parents through awareness-raising, education and employment. Moreover, the Government indicates that a Protocol for intersectoral cooperation for dealing with street children was adopted in 2022, the preparation of which was led by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MoLSP), along with the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Education and Science, and Health, and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the Government indicates that the MoLSP, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, formed mobile teams within the centres for social work that prepared monthly plans to conduct field visits in order to suppress the phenomenon of begging. The Government indicates that, in 2022, 90 new cases of children in street situations were registered, 22 warnings to parents issued, and 60 children placed in day care centres while 4 were placed in small group homes.

The Committee notes, however, that according to the report of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on North Macedonia of 2023 (GRETA report, para. 173), the work of the mobile teams and day care centres and other programmes to reduce the school dropout and increase the number of children enrolled in school have not significantly reduced child begging or the number of children in street situations, especially among Roma children. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to protect children in street situations from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results achieved, particularly in terms of the number of children removed from the streets and who have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration.

Roma children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information regarding the measures it is taking to promote the right to education of the Roma community. In particular, the Committee notes that the Government has developed and adopted the new Strategy for Inclusion of Roma 2022-2030, in the framework of which national action plans were drawn up for the realization of their most pressing rights, such as education, health, housing and employment. The Government also indicates that the Ministry of Education continues to increase funds for the support and implementation of Roma educational policies through its two- budget programme, which ensures an increase in the coverage of Roma children in primary education; a reduction in the number of students who drop out of school; a reduction in the number of Roma students enrolled in schools for children with special needs; a fight against social exclusion; and the promotion of intercultural education. Other measures shared by the Government, in its report, include the increase of Roma educational mediators and the awarding of scholarships to Roma high school students (5,122 in total between 2017–18 and 2022–23).

While taking note of these measures, the Committee takes note of the 2018–19 UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, according to which, while primary and secondary school attendance rates are high among the general population, only 39 per cent of Roma children were attending secondary education. According to a 2020 UNICEF Analysis on the situation of women and children in North Macedonia, children from Roma communities continue to face barriers to regular and quality education and training: an estimated 10 per cent of children from Roma communities do not regularly attend primary school. Taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures to ensure the protection and social inclusion of Roma children, and to facilitate their access to free basic education. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the results and assessment of the implementation of theStrategy for Inclusion of Roma 2022-2030. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved through its various measures related to education, particularly with regard to increasing school enrolment rates and reducing school drop-out rates for Roma students.

The Committee is also raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.