Human Trafficking in [Macedonia] [other countries]Street Children in [Macedonia Child Prostitution in [Macedonia] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the
early years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/streetchildren/Macedonia.htm
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Report on Situation with Children Rights in Macedonia OneWorld Platform for www.oneworldsee.org/mk/node/5516 [accessed 19 February 2011] Fatime is five. She has five more siblings between the ages of two and ten that earn their living begging on the streets of Skpoje. She wears a faded, oversized skirt and a blouse that looks like discarded rag. She has no shoes and wanders the streets barefooted. She can’t remember when was the last time she had a bath or when was it that her clothes were washed. She has never gone to a doctor. “I have to beg, for otherwise we won’t have nothing to eat. I try to stay away from the police, for they would take me to the homeless children institution. I get tired running, but I sleep it over under the stairs. My father doesn’t beat me up,” says Fatime as her father Rasim approaches and hits her over the head with a plastic bottle filled with water. His kids’ “working hours” are from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. The six of them can earn 300-400 Denars daily. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/macedonia.htm [accessed 19 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children work in the informal sector, in illegal small businesses, and on the
streets and in markets selling cigarettes and other small items. Girls are involved in commercial sexual
exploitation on the streets of CURRENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The Government of Macedonia has an Ombudsperson for the
Rights of Children, which is responsible for all child-related matters and is
in charge of the Department for Child Protection. The government operates the “Project for
Children on the Streets” to prevent child labor. UNICEF is working to increase quality and
access to education for all children as well as enhance services for
vulnerable children, and promote and monitor the implementation of the
Convention of the Rights of Children Human Rights Reports » 2005
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61662.htm [accessed 19 February 2011] CHILDREN - Romani
children were often organized into groups by Romani adults and made to beg
for money at busy intersections, street corners, and in restaurants and
cafes. According to some estimates, there
were between 500 and 1 thousand street children in the country, most of whom
were Roma. With international support, the Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy operated a day center for street children. The minister of labor reported
that the center has served at least 265 children to date. SECTION 6
WORKER RIGHTS – [d]
There were no official reports of child labor during the year; however, there
was evidence that child labor was used in the "gray economy,"
including for begging on the street and selling cigarettes and other small
items at open markets, in the streets, and in bars or restaurants, sometimes
at night. The children involved in these activities were almost exclusively
Roma. Officials did not punish such violations and children remained
vulnerable to exploitation. While the government did little to
raise public awareness on child labor abuse, NGOs were active in organizing
workshops on children's rights. International donors supported programs to
prevent children from working on the street and to increase school enrollment
of children at risk for such work. Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 28 January 2000 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/macedonia2000.html [accessed 16 June 2011] [42] The Committee acknowledges
the recent marked increases in the enrolment of children in primary schools
and other increases in secondary and university enrolment. However, the
Committee remains concerned that a significant proportion of school-aged
children do not attend primary and, notably, secondary school. Specifically,
the Committee is concerned at the low proportion of girls in general, and
children from the Roma minority in particular, who enroll in educational
establishments at all levels, and at the low numbers of children from all
minority groups who enroll at the secondary school level. The Committee is
concerned, further, at the extremely high drop-out rates of girls from
primary and secondary education. [50] The Committee is concerned at
the reported incidence of child labor within the State party, and notes that
the labor of children under 15 may also prevent these children from attending
primary school and is particularly prevalent among certain minority groups. Report on Situation with Children Rights in OneWorld Platform for www.oneworldsee.org/mk/node/5516 [accessed 19 February 2011] Fatime is five. She has five more siblings between the ages of two and ten that earn their living begging on the streets of Skpoje. She wears a faded, oversized skirt and a blouse that looks like discarded rag. She has no shoes and wanders the streets barefooted. She can’t remember when was the last time she had a bath or when was it that her clothes were washed. She has never gone to a doctor. “I have to beg, for otherwise we won’t have nothing to eat. I try to stay away from the police, for they would take me to the homeless children institution. I get tired running, but I sleep it over under the stairs. My father doesn’t beat me up,” says Fatime as her father Rasim approaches and hits her over the head with a plastic bottle filled with water. His kids’ “working hours” are from
10 a.m. till 10 p.m. The six of them can earn 300-400 Denars
daily. [access information unavailable] [3530] The new model will not provide
any spectacular results. However, with hard work, by opening several centers
more, we will manage to get them out of streets. By their stay in the Center,
children will be protected from economic exploitation," said Manasievski. Mobile teams are going to check all the
streets in the city. Without presence from police, the teams are going to
influence children in order to draw them out of streets and take them to Public Attorney - Ombudsman - Department For Protection Of
Children’s Rights European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, www2.ombudsnet.org/Ombudsmen/Macedonia/Macedonia_Update_2002.htm [accessed 16 June 2011] 2. A specific problem that
we thought had to be resolved was the protection of street children whose
numbers grew daily due to the transition, unemployment and the economic
crisis in the Activities
2000-2001 European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, Activities
2000-2001 www2.ombudsnet.org/Ombudsmen/Macedonia/Activities_00_01.htm [accessed 16 June 2011] CONCRETE
ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS - On the basis of the monitoring
of the state of children on the street/street children it has submitted a
proposal for the opening of a shelter for this category of children and which
will work as a sort of a day center with the purpose of helping the children
and their parents accomplish their rights, protecting the children and
creating conditions for the children to remain with their families. The proposal has been accepted and is being
carried out. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Street Children - |
Human Trafficking in [Macedonia] [other countries]Street Children in [Macedonia Child Prostitution in [Macedonia] [other countries]