US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB1527

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 001527 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LABOR PASS DOL/ILAB FOR TINA FAULKNER 
STATE PASS DRL/IL FOR MARINDA HARPOLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND, ELAB, ETRD, PHUM, SOCI, HR, HR 
SUBJECT: CROATIA: UPDATE ON CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: STATE 163453 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
1. This cable responds to reftel questions on Croatia's 
efforts to prevent the worst forms of child labor. 
 
2. Croatia has taken solid steps to counter the worst forms 
of child labor, enacting legislation proscribing the problem 
and ensuring the implementation and enforcement of existing 
legislation. Recent changes to the criminal code have 
criminalized trafficking in children for purposes of sexual 
exploitation and labor. A national Ombudsman for Children 
coordinates GoC efforts to prevent the exploitation of 
children and to assist in removing children from exploitative 
situations. We find plans to introduce trafficking awareness 
education an encouraging and necessary step towards 
preventing child trafficking from or through Croatian 
territory. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
 
LEGISLATION 
----------- 
 
3. Does Croatia have adequate laws and regulations 
proscribing the worst forms of child labor? 
 
The Croatian Parliament adopted ILO Convention 182 on the 
worst forms of child labor on July 17, 2001. The Convention 
entered into force on July 17, 2002. 
 
While Croatia has no single law on child labor, a number of 
labor and social protection laws have been promulgated. The 
Labor Law establishes a minimum age for legal employment of 
15. Children between the ages of 15 and 18 may work only with 
written permission from a legal guardian. An Occupational 
Safety Act prohibits children under the age of 18 from 
working overtime, at night, or in dangerous work conditions 
or with dangerous substances. The Family Act establishes 
social protection procedures to assist exploited or 
vulnerable children while a criminal investigation against 
their abuser is pending. The Law on the Ombudsman for 
Children establishes a state office to promote and protect 
the interests of children throughout the country. The Defense 
Act prohibits children under 18 from serving in the armed 
forces. The Elementary Education Act mandates eight years of 
primary education for all school children (ages 7-15). The 
minimum working age of 15 is consistent with these education 
requirements. 
 
Croatia currently has no law expressly defining the term "the 
worst forms of child labor," though the Croatian criminal 
code effectively fulfills this requirement. The code 
specifically mentions kidnapping, use of children in 
narcotics trafficking, slavery, international prostitution, 
procurement of children for sexual abuse, use of children in 
pornographic production, and abuse or neglect related to 
labor. Changes to the criminal code in May 2004 add a Cyber 
Convention, criminalizing the act of allowing children access 
to pornographic material on computer networks. The 
Occupational Safety Act limits workers between 15 and 18 from 
working in dangerous or harmful work conditions or with 
chemical or radioactive materials. 
 
4. Does Croatia have adequate laws and regulations for the 
implementation and enforcement of proscriptions against the 
worst forms of child labor? Have there been any recent 
governmental or judicial initiatives to strengthen or enforce 
child labor legislation and regulation? 
 
Six state bodies share authority for implementing and 
enforcing child labor laws in Croatia. 
 
(a) The Ministry of Justice is responsible for maintaining 
the criminal code and bringing criminal charges defined by 
the legislation above. (In 2003, the Ministry of Justice 
recorded 0 criminal charges for international prostitution, 6 
for procurement or pimping of children, 37 for exploitation 
of children for use in pornography, and 19 for allowing 
children access to pornography.) 
 
(b) The Ministry of the Family, Veterans, and 
Intergenerational Solidarity oversees Centers for Social Work 
and coordinates social services available to a child while a 
criminal investigation into abuse is pending. 
 
(c) The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare assists the 
Ministry of the Family and Center for Social Work in 
providing protective services (including protective custody 
arrangements) during an abuse investigation. 
 
(d) The Ministry of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship is 
responsible for investigating abuses of Croatian labor laws 
and monitoring work environment safety. 
 
(e) The State Inspectorate is responsible for tracking legal 
violations of employment statutes independently of criminal 
proceedings. 
 
(f) The Ombudsman for Children is responsible for 
coordinating GoC efforts to protect and promote the rights of 
children. The Ombudsman receives and responds to abuse 
allegations from both victims and the general public. While 
the Ombudsman has no legal authority to impose penalties, the 
Ombudsman works closely with police and the district 
attorney's office to follow-up on abuse allegations. 
 
In July 2004, the Croatian Parliament passed changes to the 
criminal code introducing Trafficking in Persons as a 
separate criminal act. The law, set to enter into force on 
October 1, 2004, contains wording specifically related to 
children and foresees a minimum prison sentence of five years 
for violations. Under the new code, "whoever, in violation of 
the rules of international law, buys, sells, hands over to 
another person or mediates in the purchase, sale or handing 
over of a child or a minor for the purposes of slavery or a 
similar relationship, sexual abuse, prostitution, illicit 
transplantation of organs, exploitation of labor by minors, 
or for other illicit purposes shall be punished by 
imprisonment for not less than five years." 
 
From 2002-3, the Ministry of Justice catalogued 117 cases 
involving labor by children under 15. The children, 65% 
female, were employed in the hospitality, retail, industrial, 
and construction sectors. During the same period, the 
Ministry catalogued 5 cases of illegal dangerous work 
performed by children between 15 and 18 years old. Four cases 
involved children working at night in a bakery while the 
fifth involved a child working in forestry involving 
dangerous work conditions. 
 
The June 2003 Law on the Ombudsman for Children established a 
national office responsible for coordinating, promoting, and 
protecting the rights of children in line with legal demands 
found in the Croatian Constitution, the UN Convention of 
Rights of the Child, and other international obligations. 
Conceived to ensure that children have access to effective 
protection mechanisms in case of a violation of their rights, 
the independent Ombudsman's office coordinates and responds 
to all children's rights violations -- including child labor 
complaints under ILO Convention 182. 
 
The Ombudsman's office has legal competence to monitor the 
coordination of all laws concerned with the protection and 
interests of children, Croatian compliance with international 
obligations concerning children's rights, and implementation 
of all protective mechanisms. Moreover, the office tracks 
violations and informs the public about children's rights 
violations. The law compels state, regional, and local 
governments to cooperate with the Ombudsman's office and 
respond to any warnings, proposals, or recommendations within 
15 days. 
 
INVESTIGATIONS OF CHILD LABOR COMPLAINTS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
The Ombudsman has authority to enter premises for the purpose 
of evaluating care of children in temporary or foster care. 
Upon discovery of abuse, sexual mistreatment, or 
exploitation, the Ombudsman reports the incident to the 
General Attorney Office for investigation and prosecution. 
 
Ombudsman for Children Ljubica Matijevic-Vrsaljko informed us 
that since the office began functioning 9 months ago, it has 
received two complaints. In response to a letter alleging 
that clothing company United Colors of Benetton d.o.o. had 
produced an advertisement featuring a 14-year old girl, the 
Deputy Ombudsman traveled to the site of the advertisement, 
photographed the billboard for documentation purposes, and 
formally requested the company provide information about the 
girl featured in the ad. (The Ombudsman has broad powers to 
compel companies to comply with requests for information.) 
Benetton responded that the ad was not produced within 
Croatia but imported from Italy. The Ombudsman submitted a 
request for information to Benetton headquarters in Milan in 
July and is currently awaiting a reply. Should the Ombudsman 
receive confirmation that the child is under-age, the law 
compels the Ombudsman to inform the police and district 
attorney for a full investigation. (According to Ms. 
Matijevic-Vrsaljko, her role is "not judge but truth-teller.") 
 
The second case involves a 17-year old boy who claims a man 
stopped him on the street in Zagreb, complimented his 
appearance, and offered him substantial sums of money to 
appear in films. The Ombudsman has referred this case to the 
Zagreb police, who have since interviewed the boy and are 
currently investigating. 
 
With regard to funding, the Office of the Ombudsman for 
Children employs a full-time Ombudsman and two deputies all 
appointed to eight-year renewable terms. The Ombudsman has an 
annual operating budget of 3 million kuna ($500,000) and 
plans to hire 12 support staff this fall. According to State 
Secretary for Labor Vera Babic, the State Inspectorate has 
 
SIPDIS 
responsibility for inspecting worksites and enforcing labor 
protection legislation. The Inspectorate employs 84 
inspectors for investigating labor relations issues and 90 
for investigators labor safety and protection issues. Though 
these inspectors are not specifically tasked with child labor 
investigations, they help to establish national priorities 
for worker protection. The Ministry of Economy, Labor, and 
Entrepreneurship was unable to provide data on specific child 
labor inspections. 
 
The Ministry of the Interior provides training to government 
officials on legislation criminalizing various forms of child 
abuse -- including child trafficking, sexual abuse, and labor 
exploitation. The police academy offers a seminar for new 
recruits addressing domestic violence involving children, 
educating police officers about the possibility of child 
abuse within a family and instructing them on how to respond 
to domestic violence calls. 
 
SOCIAL PROTECTION AND EDUCATION 
------------------------------- 
 
5. Have social programs been implemented to prevent the 
engagement of children in the worst forms of child labor and 
to assist in removing children engaged in the worst forms of 
child labor? 
 
In line with its involvement in the UN Convention of the 
Rights of the Child and European trends towards establishing 
an Ombudsman for Children, Croatia established an Ombudsman 
for Children in 2003. The Ombudsman and two deputies have 
authority to advocate on behalf of children involved in 
exploitative employment situations and on behalf of children 
victims of trafficking independent of any political office or 
party. The 2003 law empowers the Ombudsman office to propose 
legislation to the national, county, and municipal 
governments to strengthen victim assistance on behalf of 
children. 
 
The Ombudsman expressed grave concern about newspaper ads 
that seek to recruit teenage girls for escort services or 
modeling agencies, noting that Croatian girls were uneducated 
about this "open invitation to trafficking." The Ombudsman is 
working with the Ministry of Science and Education to 
introduce mandatory education and awareness-raising about the 
possibility of child trafficking -- she expects all Croatian 
school children will be required to watch the educational 
film "Lilya Forever" (about a child trafficking victim). 
 
Recognizing that criminal investigations often overlook the 
needs of the child, a Center for Social Welfare (CSW) within 
the Ministry of the Family is responsible for insuring a 
child's protection while police investigate an abuse 
violation and the district attorney's office prosecutes the 
abuser. A network of 112 CSWs throughout Croatia -- include 1 
central office and 13 branch offices for Zagreb -- have broad 
powers to inspect foster or temporary care facilities and 
even to terminate parental rights during an abuse case if the 
parents are a threat to the child's welfare. New legal 
procedures to enter into force on January 1, 2006 will give 
parents the power to appeal CSW decisions through normal 
legal channels. While she lauded the CSW's focus on the 
child, Matijevic-Vrsaljko expressed concern that the Centers 
for Social Welfare do not institutionally coordinate their 
activities with either the police or the district attorney. 
 
In July 2003, the former Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare 
through its National Committee on Children established a safe 
shelter in a GoC-owned facility. The shelter, upgraded with 
the help of International Organization for Migration funding, 
will provide temporary safe haven to exploitation victims as 
of August 2004. 
 
Croatians enjoy ready and widespread access to primary 
education. Under Croatian law children must complete eight 
years of compulsory education after the age of six. In 
 
practice, this means compulsory education is generally 
completed by the age of 15, though the overwhelming majority 
of Croatian students remain in school until age 18. 
 
The Croatian Constitution, the 2002 Constitutional Law on the 
Rights of National Minorities, and the 2003 Law on Education 
in the Languages of National Minorities work to extend access 
to primary schooling to Croatia's minority communities. The 
2003 National Program for Roma (NPR) specifically addresses 
the issue of primary schooling for Roma children in Croatia 
(the GoC estimates 1500 Roma children attended primary school 
in 2002). The NPR notes that the primary obstacles to Roma 
access to primary schooling is weak command of the Croatian 
language; accordingly, the NPR commits the GoC financially to 
provide additional teachers and pre-school instruction in 
Croatian language for Roma children valued at approximately 
$65/child per year. 
 
A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON CHILD LABOR 
------------------------------------- 
 
6. Does Croatia have a comprehensive policy aimed at the 
elimination of the worst forms of child labor? 
 
Croatia introduced a National Program of Action for Children 
in 1999, including programs to promote economic development, 
health, nutrition, access to safe drinking water, poverty 
relief, education support, and assistance for children 
victims of war. The Program establishes education targets of 
60% of Croatian children in pre-elementary education and 100% 
in compulsory elementary education. According to State 
Secretary for Labor Vera Babic (who sat on the drafting 
 
SIPDIS 
commission), this target has been met. 
 
In June 2004, Croatia established a working group on child 
trafficking, chaired by a representative of the National 
Human Rights Office and consisting of the Ombudsman for 
Children and representatives of the Ministries of Interior, 
Family, Science and Education, Health and Social Welfare, and 
the District Attorney's Office. In coordination with UNICEF, 
this working group is in the process of drafting a national 
plan for combating child trafficking but has no immediate 
plans to release any public documents. 
 
A National Program of Action for Youth passed in November 
2002 aims at establishing a long-term strategy for the social 
integration and empowerment of young people between the ages 
of 15 and 29; the National Program concerns youth job 
creation but does not address the labor exploitation of 
children younger than 15 years. 
 
Croatia has not, however, issued a public statement on 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor. 
 
7. For more information, the point of contact for this 
report, Economic Officer Joshua Harris, can be reached either 
by telephone at 011-385-1-661-2378 or email at 
harrisjm@state.gov. 
FRANK 
 
 
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