Trafficking and child labor
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© UNICEF/Romania011 |
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Children behind the door |
The UN Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime is the most recent international convention covering trafficking, and together with the Palermo Protocol, these are intended to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially of women and children. Romania has ratified and translated all these international agreements into national legislation.
Growing numbers of female migrants and unaccompanied children, coupled with a demand for cheap unprotected labor, suggest that the issue of trafficking may escalate in future. Furthermore, in Romania, as in several other countries in the region, a new group of children at risk of trafficking has emerged, namely children with disabilities, being used for begging.
According to data from the General Department for Fighting Organized Crime and Drug Consumption, theft and begging were the most common activities among repatriated unaccompanied children acknowledging having been trafficked for forced labor. Parents are normally directly or indirectly involved in trafficking of young children for forced labor.
