Human Trafficking in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)                                                [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Bosnia and Herzegovina [map] is a Serbo-Croatian country on the Balkan peninsula, S Europe.  It is bounded by Croatia (W & N) and by Serbia and Montenegro (E).  A narrow, undeveloped outlet to the Adriatic in the southwest is its only outlet to the sea.  Sarajevo is its capital.  A sizeable current account deficit and high unemployment rate remain the two most serious economic problems. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.

 

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country, and Years Missing

UNICEF - The Big Picture

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Roma children beg on the streets in Sarajevo.  Access to education remains limited for Roma children who frequently face a hostile learning environment due to harassment from other students, language barriers, segregated classrooms, and the inability to pay for the costs associated with schooling.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN - Education is free and compulsory through age 15; however, parents were required to pay for textbooks, lunches, and transportation, which some families could not afford. A lack of reliable monitoring and statistics on enrollment and drop-out rates hindered efforts to ensure that school-age children received an education. Children with special needs were legally required to attend regular classes, but schools were often unable to accommodate them. Except for Roma, almost all children finished primary school through the 9th grade; the completion rate was lower for secondary school. Boys and girls attended school equally.

According to the country's annual Helsinki Committee human rights report, up to 70 percent of Romani children did not attend school regularly. Many Romani children were unable to attend school because of extremely poor living conditions, lack of proper clothing, and the inability or unwillingness of families to pay school-related expenses. Verbal harassment from other students, language problems, and registration costs and requirements also contributed to the exclusion of Roma from schools, despite the desire of many parents to enroll their children

Child begging was common in some Romani communities; infants (with adults) and children as young as four were sent out to beg on street corners, often working 10 or more hours per day in all weather conditions.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, BiH (3 June 2005)

[65] The Committee is concerned at the information that a significant number of children, especially Roma, are living or working on the streets, that the majority of these children are under 14, that most of them do not attend schools and nearly half of them appear to be ill. Furthermore, the Committee notes with concern that the work performed by these children is often harmful and exploitative and that many of them are compelled or forced to work.

CRC 39: Bosnia and Herzegovina reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (19 May 2005)

CHILD PROTECTION AND SPECIAL PROTECTION - The number of street children was not especially high, but 90% of street children were forced to beg and more than 10% of them were abused or used in some way or another.  BiH was planning to introduce new measures through the police to trace them.

Sharing The School Bench: Getting Roma Children Into School

Last year, the ranks of children on the streets of Bosnia and Herzegovina were swelled with hundreds of Roma children who hung out around parks, restaurants and parking lots with the hope of being given a coin or two that would help buy food for their family.

Child Sex Trafficking Study By CU-Boulder Sociologist Reveals Misperceptions

Most adults in Bosnia-Herzegovina think that the majority of its street children are Roma, and that Roma beg primarily by tradition.  Prejudice against the Roma has led people to think that there was little point to trying to help these street children, when, in fact, the street children come from all ethnic groups.

Bethesda Project - A Human Development Project for Orphans & Street Children [DOC]

The Bethesda Project is a human development project aims at giving back to orphans, and street children and their families the dignity they need to keep on with their life by providing them new appropriate housing; school attendance for boys and girls; health and psychological support; sports facilities; training in handicraft skills and creativity; participation in livestock, farming and gardening activities; fine arts talent development and; spiritual development.

All material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use

 

 
Human Trafficking in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Bosnia and Herzegovina]  [other countries]