VZCZCXRO2525
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #1707/01 3460948
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120948Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4555
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0124

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001707 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL, DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER AND DRL/IL FOR TU 
DANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID AM
SUBJECT: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR REMAIN RARE IN ARMENIA 
 
REF: A) STATE 184972 B) 05 YEREVAN 1550 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) In 2006, the Armenian government tightened some of its 
legislation pertaining to child labor.  While there is still no 
explicit law against the worst forms of child labor, at the end of 
2005 the government adopted a list of occupations considered too 
hazardous for children.  The Labor Code, enacted in 2005 and drafted 
to meet International Labor Organization (ILO) standards, prohibits 
child labor.  Bonded, arduous or exploitive child labor in Armenia 
continues to be rare.  The high demand for employment, especially 
for unskilled workers, and the Armenian cultural premium on the 
family make it unlikely that employers would force valuable or 
hazardous jobs on children.  While conventional bonded or slave 
child labor may not be a significant problem in Armenia, we continue 
to push the Armenian Government to take more active measures to 
protect women from trafficking and sexual exploitation.  The GOAM 
has never prosecuted a case of exploitive child labor, and maintains 
that it is not a problem in Armenia.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------- 
ARMENIA:  EXPLOITIVE CHILD LABOR RARE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The following responses update Ref B. 
 
A)  Laws against the worst forms of child labor: 
 
-- On December 5, the National Assembly adopted changes to Section 
7, Chapter 20, Article 168 of the Criminal Code that clarify and in 
some cases strengthen penalties against those convicted of 
purchasing or selling a child.  Previously, those found guilty of 
the vague charge of "purchasing or selling a child" were subject to 
three to seven years' imprisonment.  Under the new changes, the 
purchase or sale of a child in the absence of a related crime, such 
as trafficking, carries a prison sentence of two to five years.  If 
the purchase or sale were to be committed under aggravating 
circumstances, the sentence is four to eight years. 
 
-- In 2006, the last of three international children's rights 
instruments adopted in 2005 was enacted.  The International Labor 
Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
took effect January 2, 2006.  The Optional Protocol to the 
Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, 
Child Prostitution and Pornography and the Optional Protocol to the 
CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict took effect in 
July and October 2005, respectively. 
 
-- On October 23, Armenia ratified the Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. 
 
-- Under the new labor law, children under 18 years old are 
prohibited from working in hazardous conditions (Article 257, 
Sections 1-4).  On December 29, 2005, the Government adopted a list 
of occupations defining these conditions.  The list includes 
occupations considered too physically difficult or dangerous to be 
performed by minors, pregnant women and women with children under 1 
year old. The decree creating the list took effect on February 2, 
¶2006.  The Government still has not developed a list of occupations 
considered specifically to be among the worst forms of child labor. 
 
-- The Armenian Criminal Code, adopted April 11, 2003, includes the 
following punishments for exploitive child labor as amended: human 
trafficking (seven to 15 years' imprisonment and fines under Section 
7, Chapter 20, Article 132 and Article 132 Part 1); involving minors 
in prostitution, begging and pornography (one to six years' 
imprisonment and fines under Section 7, Chapter 20, Article 166; 
those convicted of involving children in prostitution also may 
receive three to eight years' imprisonment under Section 7, Chapter 
20, Article 261, or three to 10 years' imprisonment under Section 7, 
Chapter 20, Article 262); child trafficking (three to seven years' 
imprisonment and fines under Section 7, Chapter 20, Article 168); 
disseminating and involving minors in child pornography (two to four 
years' imprisonment and fines under Section 9, Chapter 25, Article 
263). 
 
-- The minimum age for completing educational requirements in 
Armenia varies according to the age at which a child is first 
enrolled in school.  Generally, however, primary and basic education 
is compulsory to age 14.  UNICEF's 2004 Armenia report asserted that 
25 percent of children in Armenia did not continue studies after 
eighth grade.  National Statistical Service figures show an overall 
six percent attrition rate among students who completed the eighth 
 
YEREVAN 00001707  002 OF 003 
 
 
grade and began ninth grade in 2005. 
 
B)  Regulations for implementation and enforcement of 
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor: 
 
-- According to State Labor Inspectorate Acting Director Harutyun 
Harutyunian, the new agency, established in March 2005, is now 
operating at full capacity.  According to Harutyunian, the agency 
has neither received nor investigated any child labor complaints 
since its inception.  The agency, which replaced the Monitoring and 
Inspections Department of the State Social Insurance Fund, does not 
have designated child labor inspectors.  The Monitoring and 
Inspections Department had neither received nor investigated a 
single child labor complaint during its 13-year tenure. 
 
-- During a USG-sponsored workshop in May 2005, GOAM officials 
drafted the Inspectorate's mission statement, designed the Labor 
Inspectorate's departmental structures, and identified timelines for 
training inspectors.  USAID also sponsored a study tour for eight 
State Labor Inspectorate officials to visit their counterparts in 
Bulgaria. 
 
-- According to UNICEF child protection officer Naira Avetisian, the 
new labor code, though based on international protocols and European 
Union standards, has unclear enforcement mechanisms that reduce its 
effectiveness. 
 
-- The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Department 
of Women, Family and Children, Lala Ghazarian, told us the ministry 
is discussing changes to the Labor Code that would define mechanisms 
for the implementation of the code, including the section on 
children's rights.  According to Ghazarian, the GOAM established an 
Interagency Commission on Children's Right Protection in November 
¶2005.  The commission is chaired by the Minister of Labor and Social 
Affairs, and consists of department heads and deputy ministers. 
Ghazaryan also told us the state has established children's rights 
protection centers charged with following up on complaints of 
psychological abuse in schools. 
 
-- According to Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman Armen Harutyunian, 
none of the 1,178 written human rights complaints he received this 
year included cases of child labor.  Armenian National Police 
Juvenile Police Division Head Nelly Durian said none of the roughly 
300 juvenile police officers she manages had investigated any cases 
related to child labor. 
 
C)  Social programs to prevent children from engaging in the worst 
forms of child labor: 
 
-- According to the Ministry of Education, approximately 10,000 
Armenian children are currently enrolled in special state-run 
schools, which include schools for the gifted, and schools for the 
deaf, and schools for children from poor families.  The schools for 
the deaf and the poor include boarding facilities.  In compliance 
with European Union standards, beginning in 2007, special schools 
for children from poor families, formerly somewhat isolated, will be 
converted into mainstream schools and child care centers to 
facilitate their students' integration into society. 
 
-- Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Social Support Department 
Head Astghik Minasyan told us the GOAM continues to issue one-time 
allowances of AMD 20,000 (approximately USD 54) to needy families. 
About 20,000 families received these allowances in 2006.  Begun 
August 22, 2005, the program intends to provide families with 
assistance to purchase clothing and school supplies for their 
primary school-aged children. 
 
-- Armenian NGO "Orran" maintains a home for approximately 70 
orphaned and abandoned children, including children rescued from 
Armenian streets.  According to Executive Director Heriknaz 
Harutyunian, none of the children for which her NGO provides 
assistance had been victims of exploitive child labor.  Harutyunian 
said the NGO saw one case this year in which a mother forced her two 
children to beg for money on the streets.  When the NGO's attempts 
to dissuade her from this practice failed, the children were put 
into an orphanage. 
 
-- In 2002, the last year UNICEF compiled data on homelessness in 
Armenia, UNICEF reported the Ministry of Interior had identified 135 
children working on the streets.  UNICEF-Armenia child protection 
officer Naira Avetisyan said the number of children working on the 
streets in 2006 had not changed substantially.  Children may 
occasionally be observed selling pens or tissues, or washing cars 
parked on the street. 
 
-- The NGO Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) maintains a Children's 
 
YEREVAN 00001707  003 OF 003 
 
 
Reception Center that shelters, assesses and refers "troubled and 
vulnerable" children to special institutions including state-run 
boarding schools and orphanages.  Since 2000, FAR has assisted more 
than 1,400 children.  According to Program Director Ramona Ktakyan, 
some parents or family members had charged fees to "customers" for 
the minors' "sexual services."  Juvenile Police officers and state 
social workers work with the children to develop criminal cases and 
provide social services. 
 
D)  Comprehensive policies designed to eliminate the worst 
forms of child labor: 
 
Nothing new in 2006. 
 
E)  Armenia's continued progress toward eliminating the worst forms 
of child labor: There are no significant exploitive child labor 
problems in Armenia. 
 
GODFREY