Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Serbia (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS), communicated with the Government’s report.

Articles 3(a) and (b) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government indicates that, for the period January 2017 to December 2022, a total of 344 criminal reports were filed against 272 persons for committing 514 criminal offences of a sexual nature against minors, including relating to the use of children in pornography under section 185 of the Criminal Code. The Government adds that, in the period 2017–22, police officers filed a total of 122 criminal reports against 241 persons due to reasonable suspicion that the criminal offence of human trafficking under section 388 of the Criminal Code was committed, whereby 193 persons were victims of human trafficking. According to the information provided by the Government, the victims were trafficked for: (1) begging (7 boys and 3 girls); (2) sexual exploitation (1 boy and 34 girls); (3) pornographic purposes (8 girls); (4) multiple exploitation (1 boy and 5 girls); and (5) labour exploitation (2 boys and 7 girls).

The Committee further notes that the CATUS, in its observations, regrets the lack of information on how many proceedings were actually initiated and completed and the penalties imposed. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to eliminate in practice the trafficking of children, particularly by ensuring that thorough investigations and prosecutions are carried out against persons who engage in the trafficking of children, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of sections 185 and 388 of the Criminal Code in relation to the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children under 18 years of age, and to ensure that this information includes data on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the types of penalties applied.

Article 4(1). Hazardous work. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s information on the number of children under the age of 18 years that the labour inspectorate found to be working, for the period 2019 to 2022. The Government indicates that, among these children, labour inspectors found children working without contracts, without being registered for compulsory social insurance, without parental consent and at other times without the authorization of the competent health authority. The Committee takes note of the penalties imposed by the labour inspectors in these cases; however, it notes that the information provided does not relate to the application in practice of Regulation No. 53/2017, which sets out the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years of age.

The Committee notes, from the National Child Labour Survey 2021, published in collaboration with the ILO, that there are 14,000 children aged 5–14 years engaged in hazardous work (representing 2.2 per cent of children in this age group), and 21,000 children aged 15–17 years (10.1 per cent of children in this age group). Among children aged 15–17 years who are engaged in hazardous work, 41.1 per cent are exposed to dust, 30.7 per cent work with dangerous machines and devices (e.g. tractors), 19.7 per cent work in awkward positions for prolonged periods and 11.2 per cent are exposed to extreme cold, heat or humidity. For younger children, aged 5–14 years, 41.7 per cent are exposed to extreme cold, heat or high humidity, 32.9 per cent to dust, 25.2 per cent work in awkward positions and 23.8 per cent work with dangerous machines. The survey also highlights that, although the majority of children aged 5–14 years are not exposed to hazardous household chores, there are still some 5,800 children that suffer from extremely long hours in household chores. Considering that children continue to be engaged in hazardous types of work, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to protect these children from hazardous work including by ensuring that Regulation No. 53/2017 is effectively enforced. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of Regulation No. 53/2017, including the number of children found in hazardous work as well as the types of violations reported, and the penalties imposed.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information on the measures taken to implement the National Strategy for Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking, Especially Women and Children 2017–2022 (National Strategy 2017–2022), including: (1) implementation of a Fundamentals of Child Safety Programme, to educate children about risks and methods of prevention, including through the broadcast of videos on child trafficking; (2) implementation of programmes for prevention of child trafficking in primary schools; (3) implementation of an operational action to combat trafficking in children for pornographic purposes, named “Armageddon”; (4) implementation of the “Say No!” video campaign against the sexual exploitation of children available on social media platforms; and (5) publication of a “Guide for the application of revised indicators for the preliminary identification of students who are potential victims of human trafficking” distributed to all primary and secondary schools personnel to provide staff with tools to identify child victims of trafficking. The Committee also notes that the Government implemented an anti-trafficking Programme, in cooperation with the National Red Cross, throughout the country, to spread knowledge and awareness about human trafficking, with an emphasis on children and young people, including in particularly vulnerable groups.

The Committee notes, from the observations of the CATUS, that it considers that the Government’s report lacks information on the effectiveness of the measures taken, and more specifically on the concrete measures taken to implement the National Strategy 2017–2022, as well as on the results achieved. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to eliminate the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children under the age of 18 years. It also requests the Government to provide specific information on the results of the measures taken in this regard and to consider updating the National Strategy 2017–2022.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and direct assistance for the removal of children from these worst forms and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child victims of trafficking. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information on the measures taken to prevent child trafficking, including: (1) the creation of a working group for the preparation of a new strategic document on combating human trafficking, which will have a special segment on child protection; and (2) the implementation of the Strategy for the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings, especially in Women and Children, and the Protection of Victims 2017–2022, and its Action Plan, which foresees a series of activities to improve the capacity of the protection system and exercise the rights of victims of human trafficking in accordance with international standards.

With regard to the identification of child victims, the Government indicates that: (1) it developed indicators for the preliminary identification of child victims of trafficking for the education system and the social protection system, for the formal identification of child victims of trafficking and to assess the risk of human trafficking for migrant children; (2) trainings were held for the preliminary identification of victims of human trafficking in the education system for representatives of school administrations, and two trainings were scheduled for a total of 50 psychologists working in schools; (3) the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking cooperated with the Association of Youth Offices, and as part of that cooperation, they trained representatives of youth offices to recognize and respond to situations of human trafficking, and held a forum for over 250 students in Valjevo; and (4) numerous trainings were held on the topic of recognizing and identifying human trafficking among children and providing support for the victims.

The Government indicates that, in the period from January 2019 to 31 August 2023, 144 child victims of trafficking were identified, of which 122 girls and 22 boys. The most common form of child exploitation is sexual exploitation, forced begging and labour exploitation. All the child victims identified were placed at the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (the Centre). The Committee takes note of the detailed list of services offered by the Centre to identified child victims, including: (1) appointment of a temporary or permanent guardian; (2) accommodation; (3) development of a protection plan for each child, which always includes individual psychological support, information about the rights of the child and a legal representative for judicial proceedings; and (4) support for all child victims of trafficking for several years and after reaching adulthood, as long as there is a need for it.

The Committee notes, from the observations of the CATUS that: (1) more effective protection measures are needed to ensure the implementation of existing laws and action plans; (2) the Government needs to strengthen the capacities of the Centre, social protection institutions, and labour inspection; (3) it is necessary to find a mechanism for processing data on the number of identified child victims of human trafficking and the types of assistance and services provided by the Centre and other social protection institutions; and (4) the Government should increase the budget for education and strengthen the school system, the budget for basic social services for children and their families, and the budget for law enforcement institutions, including for the labour inspection and school inspection. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in reply to the observations of the CATUS. It further requests the Government to continue to take measures to prevent trafficking in children, including in the framework Strategy for the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings, especially in Women and Children and the Protection of Victims 2017–2022 and its Action Plan. It also requests the Government to continue to strengthen the capacities of the Centre and other social institutions in the rehabilitation and social integration of child victims of trafficking. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of trafficking identified, and the types of assistance and services provided by the Centre and other social service institutions.

Clauses (a) and (d). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in street situations, especially Roma children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) in 2022, it prepared and signed a Plan for the Protection of Children in Street Situations, with the objective of protecting children from violence, neglect and exploitation and providing support and alternatives to children who live and/or work in the streets; (2) a draft report entitled “Rapid assessment of child labour in the streets in Serbia” was completed and will be shared once finalized; (3) there are seven licensed providers of temporary accommodation services for children in street situations – four shelters and three drop-in centres; (4) in 2019, in Belgrade, a new Shelter for children and youth was opened, with the capacity to accommodate up to 48 children. In addition to the Shelter, in a separate part of the building there is a space for a drop-in service with facilities to accommodate 30 children; and (5) the Council for the Rights of the Child, established by the Government in 2018, is responsible for, among other things, monitoring the situation in the area of the protection of the rights of children in street situations and coordinating the monitoring of the implementation of national provisions for the prevention of child labour.

The Committee further notes, from the Government’s report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that, through the application of affirmative action measures, 12,427 Roma students (56 per cent girls) have been enrolled in secondary schools. The Government also refers to the adoption of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Women 2022–2030 (CRC/C/SRB/4-5, 30 May 2022, paragraphs 166 and 187). The Committee notes, from the Strategy that: (1) one of the reasons why early school leaving is a widespread trend in the Roma population is that Roma children, usually boys from families experiencing severe deprivation frequently discontinue their schooling in order to earn money by working in the informal economy (collecting recyclable materials, working at flea markets or as street vendors, washing cars) or by begging, which is a form of economic exploitation; (2) in its annual reports, the Ombudsman stated that the position of children who live and work in the streets had not changed and that no strategic activity had been undertaken to prevent and control their living and working in the streets, improve their position, and reduce and eliminate factors of risk to their life and work; and (3) the Strategy envisages activities targeting specific groups in the Roma population in response to child labour, forced labour, children in street situations and human trafficking.

While taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes that, according to the CATUS, the biggest problem in Serbia relates to children who work in the streets, and that there is a lack of specialized shelters and institutions that would provide a stimulating environment for their education, protection and inclusion in the social environment. The CATUS also stresses the need for the Government to take measures to prevent the return of children to the streets. Further, it notes from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) the concerns about: (1) the continuing high incidence of poverty, particularly among Roma; (2) the limited provision of social housing to Roma and other disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and families; and (3) the disproportionately high dropout rates at the primary and secondary education levels as well as the low attendance rates in preschool and secondary education among Roma children (E/C.12/SRB/CO/3, 6 April 2022, paragraphs 54, 56 and 66). The Committee recalls that children in street situations are at particular risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and therefore requests the Government to continue taking effective and time-bound measures to prevent and protect children in street situations, especially Roma children, from the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to:

• take specific measures to this end, including in the framework of the Plan for the Protection of Children in Street Situations and the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Women 2022–2030, and provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved;
• share the results of the Rapid assessment of child labour in the streets in Serbia and indicate the measures taken as a follow-up of the assessment; and
• provide information on the rehabilitation and social integration of children in street situations, including the number of children who were provided with educational and vocational training opportunities.

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