Trafficking and child labor
The most recent international convention covering trafficking is the UN Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime, and the additional Palermo Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Romania has ratified and translated into national legislation all these international agreements. Some 1.2 million Romanians were not permitted to exit the country in 2003 as they did not fulfil the legal requirements. Growing numbers of female migrants and unaccompanied children, matched by a demand for cheap unprotected labour, suggest that the issue of trafficking may escalate in the future. Furthermore, in Romania as well 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 labour. Parents are normally directly or indirectly involved in trafficking of young children for forced labour.
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