Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Croatia (Ratification: 2001)

Article 3 of the Convention. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide information in its report on the practical application of its legislation criminalizing the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular the production or trafficking of drugs. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied for the offences committed under section 190(3) of the Criminal Act related to the use of children under the age of 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the National Referral System consists of the National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, of the National Committee for Combatting Trafficking and its operational team and, since 2019, of the Labour Inspectorate. The National Referral System manages all activities from the identification of the victims of trafficking to their full integration into society and is based on cooperation and exchange of information among competent state administration bodies, public institutions, and the NGOs. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the activities carried out by the National Referral System to monitor the trafficking of children for labour and commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Trafficking. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s detailed information regarding the measures taken to prevent child trafficking. In particular, the Government indicates that the National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2018–2021 covered all aspects of combating trafficking in human beings and included preventive actions and public awareness-raising of the recruitment of victims of trafficking through the Internet, with a specific focus on women and children. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government regarding various awareness-raising measures, and on the National SOS Line for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings which operates daily.

Furthermore, the Committee notes, from the Report of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Croatia, 2020 (GRETA Report), that the Government adopted a new Action Plan 2019–2020 for the Implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategy 2013–2020, which included the issue of human trafficking (para. 160). One of the aims of the Action Plan is to enable persons from Roma communities to recognize the threats of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence, with a particular focus on women and children, through measures that include training programmes and awareness-raising. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to combat the trafficking of children for the purpose of labour or sexual exploitation, and the results achieved. In particular, it requests the Government to indicate whether a new National Action Plan to combat trafficking in human beings is being developed and/or implemented. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the Action Plan 2019–2020 – as well as through any new plan or programme - on the protection of particularly vulnerable Roma children from sale and trafficking.

Article 7(2)(a). Effective and time-bound measures. Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Roma children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that considerable improvement had been achieved in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating both the mainstream and targeted measures to integrate Roma children, particularly in the area of education.

The Committee notes, according to the Fifth Opinion on Croatia by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC) of the Council of Europe (1 February 2021, para. 81), that Croatian authorities continue implementing policies aimed at improving the living conditions and social inclusion of the Roma by further developing the National Roma Inclusion Strategy (NRIS) 2013–20. The Government indicates that the monitoring of activities and measures of NRIS is regularly carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science, and reported annually by the National Office for Human Rights and National Minorities. Regular reports show significant positive developments in the field of education of members of the Roma national minority, including as regards the number of students enrolled in the secondary education system. The Government indicates, for example, that the Ministry of Science and Education provides additional classes for Roma national minority students, which is important for the successful completion of primary education. Moreover, the secondary education system includes an increasing number of students, and student scholarships and literacy and training programmes are being provided. Finally, the resources allocated by the Ministry of Science and Education to the achievement of national policy measures for Roma education have increased significantly.

The Committee further notes that the ACFC commended the introduction of free pre-school education in the year preceding enrolment in primary school with an emphasis on language instruction and the fact that the number of Roma children enrolling in compulsory pre-primary school programmes is as high as in the general population (95 per cent). However, it also took note of continued reports of de facto segregation of Roma children in the education sector and about the lack of opportunities to receive instruction in their languages, as well as of the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on equal access to education for Roma children (paras 184–200). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to facilitate access of Roma children to free, quality basic education. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, particularly with regard to improving the functioning of the education system, increasing the school enrolment rates and reducing the school drop-out rates of Roma children. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by age and gender.

Article 7(2)(b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child victims of trafficking. The Committee previously noted, among other measures, that four mobile teams operating at the local level in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek, cooperate with the local police to identify victims of trafficking and organize their referral to assistance.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and of the Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities, 30 child victims of trafficking were identified between 2017 and 2020. The Government indicates that three new protocols were adopted to assist victims of trafficking, namely the Protocol on identification, assistance and protection of victims of human trafficking (Protocol I) and the Protocol on the procedures during the voluntary return of victims of human trafficking in 2017, as well as the Protocol on the integration/reintegration of victims of trafficking in human beings in 2019. The Government indicates, in particular, that Protocol I is implemented by the MoI, who cooperates with civil society organizations and mobile teams to identify victims of trafficking. Where the victim is a child, a mobile team coordinator must act as representative of the social welfare system, and the victim must decide whether they will accept the aid and protection programme offered to them within 90 days of identification. Aid and protection programmes include medical and psycho-social protection, safe accommodation, translation and interpretation services and legal aid. The Committee also takes note of the detailed information communicated by the Government regarding the measures taken to protect migrant and asylum seeker child victims from any type of abuse and violence, including a right to support services.

The Committee notes, however, various concerns mentioned in the GRETA Report, including the lack of training for mobile team members and, the lack of state funding for the so far voluntary work of specialized NGOs participating in the mobile teams (paras 176–187). The Committee encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect children from sale and trafficking. It requests the Government to continue providing statistical information on the number of child victims of trafficking under the age of 18 who have been identified and provided services and assistance by the various agencies, including the operational team and the four mobile teams at the local level.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. Children engaged in begging. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, according to available data, there were no recorded cases of children under 14 years being used for begging in 2020. According to data from the MoI in 2020, five children over the age of 14 were found begging. The Government indicates that begging with children is a relatively regular occurrence in major cities, especially in Zagreb. While police officers are continuously taking measures to prevent children from being used for begging, responsible State bodies have not been able to completely eradicate this unwanted social phenomenon. The Committee encourages the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect children engaged in begging from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children engaged in begging who have been identified, rehabilitated and socially integrated through such measures.

2. Absconding and unaccompanied children. The Committee previously noted that there had been an increase in the number of runaway children and unaccompanied minors, who disappeared from the reception centres for asylum seekers within days of being placed. It noted the Government’s indication that there was an ongoing process of de-institutionalization and placing children with foster parents.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the new Foster Care Act (OG No 115/18) – which enables the accommodation of unaccompanied children with foster families – entered into force in 2019. According to the GRETA Report, pursuant to the Foster Care Act, professional assistance and support in foster care is provided by social welfare centres, social care homes and community service centres. The Ordinance on the manner and duration of foster carers’ training and additional training stipulates that applicants who have expressed an interest in accommodating an unaccompanied foreign child or young adult must undergo additional training, which includes issues such as children in migration, interculturalism and intercultural competences in the care of an unaccompanied child, specificities of victims of trafficking, and preparation of unaccompanied children transitioning to adulthood for leaving foster care (para. 155).

The Committee notes, however, that according to the GRETA report, since 2015, the Ministry of the Interior has identified over 1,000 children as unaccompanied and separated (319 in 2016, 541 in 2017 and 156 in the first 10 months of 2018) (para. 196). The GRETA report highlights the particular vulnerability of children placed in childcare institutions, as well as the links between institutional care and child trafficking. It also raises concerns about alleged failings of the guardianship system for unaccompanied children, including the fact that, due to the heavy workload of social workers and language barriers, the role of the guardian was only formal and without real involvement in the procedure for protecting the best interests of the child. In some cases, an adult from the migrant group with which the child had arrived in Croatia was appointed as guardian, thus risking the appointment of a person who traffics or exploits the child as his/her guardian (para. 197). The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect unaccompanied children from falling victims to the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.