VZCZCXRO9515
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #1416/01 3460554
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120554Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6723
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0137

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001416 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL, DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER, DRL/IL FOR TU 
DANG 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA:  NO SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORST FORMS OF 
CHILD LABOR IN 2007 
 
REF: A) STATE 158223 B) 06 YEREVAN 1707 C) 06 YEREVAN 1716 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In 2007 there were no significant developments to report 
with respect to worst forms of child labor in Armenia.  As 
previously reported (ref B), Armenia has adopted all international 
agreements on children's rights, as well as a list of occupations 
considered hazardous for children.  Both the Constitution and the 
Labor Code forbid bonded or extraneous labor.  The problem of 
exploitative child labor is not significant in Armenia.  A 2007 
nationwide survey by the Armenian Association of Social Workers 
found that 3.8 percent of children in 1,066 polled families were 
employed, a number that showed no increase from a 2004 figure 
reported in the National Statistical Survey.  Government-run 
regional Child Protection Units are gradually becoming more 
effective and have marked significant progress in detecting 
unregistered children.  In late 2006, the government prosecuted a 
labor trafficking case involving a minor, and conducts awareness 
raising activities targeted at potential labor migrants, including 
children.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. The following information updates previously reported material 
provided in Ref B. 
 
A) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child labor: 
 
 
-- There have been no changes in legislation with respect to child 
labor/employment in 2007 (Ref B). 
 
-- Article 17 of the Labor Code provides that the minimum age for 
children's employment is 14; and that written parental or guardian 
permission, as well as a written contract, are mandatory conditions 
for employing children aged 14-16.  Moreover, children from 14-16 
years old can work only 24 hours per week, and children from 16-18 
years old only 36 hours (Article 140). 
 
-- According to the Labor Code, children under 18 are prohibited 
from work in hazardous conditions (Article 257).  However, 
provisions of the law were violated in a few cases.  (See below.). 
The Governmental Decree N-2308, "On approving the List of 
occupations considered heavy or dangerous for persons under 18, 
pregnant women and women in care of children under 1 year," defines 
those hazardous conditions.  The decree took effect February 2, 
¶2006.  Valery Danielyan, Director of the Legal Department of the 
State Labor Inspectorate (SLI), maintains the decree actually meets 
the condition set by ILO Convention 182 on developing the list of 
occupations considered to be among the worst forms of child labor. 
According to the ILO National Correspondent in Armenia, however, the 
ILO has yet to analyze and form an opinion on this subject, as it 
has yet to receive from Armenia any progress reports on 
implementation of Convention 182. 
 
-- The Armenian Constitution prohibits forced and compulsory labor, 
including by children.  The law proscribes trafficking in persons 
and considers child trafficking an aggravated circumstance, which is 
punishable by 3 to 15 years imprisonment.  Sexual intercourse with a 
minor under 16 is punishable with up to 2 years imprisonment, and 
involving underage children in prostitution or pornography can 
result in 5 years imprisonment.  The law gives responsibility to the 
government to protect children from criminal activities, 
prostitution, and begging.  Armenian males are registered for 
military conscription at 16, but are not subject to compulsory 
military service or voluntary recruitment until 18. 
 
B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of proscriptions 
against the worst forms of child labor: 
 
-- The SLI and law-enforcement bodies are in charge of discovering 
and prosecuting instances of exploitative child labor.  According to 
the director of SLI's legal department, the SLI has yet to receive a 
single complaint of child exploitation since its establishment in 
March 2005, and hence has not had to conduct any inspections.  Since 
the problem remains very insignificant in Armenia, SLI has neither 
assigned its inspectors to work only on child labor issues nor 
provided training to its inspectors on child labor exploitation 
issues. 
 
-- According to Naira Avetisyan, UNICEF Child Protection Officer, 
the government-run Child Protection Units (CPUs) that were 
established in 2005 in all of Armenia's regions are gradually 
becoming efficient in their functions.  Among other things, CPUs 
 
YEREVAN 00001416  002 OF 003 
 
 
detect, register, and refer vulnerable children to appropriate care 
agencies.  While UNICEF believes CPUs could become even more engaged 
overall, it is encouraged that the units have become quite efficient 
in detecting unregistered births and children, and helping register 
these cases.  (Note:  One of the most vulnerable groups, these 
unregistered children can subsequently become easy prey for 
traffickers.  End note.) 
 
C) Social programs specifically designed to prevent and withdraw 
children from the worst forms of child labor: 
 
-- The Government continues to maintain special state-run schools, 
which also include schools for children from poor families (Ref A). 
 
 
-- According Astghik Minasyan, director of the Social Support 
Department at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the 
government continues to provide various types of benefits to 
disadvantaged families.  In particular, the government continues to 
issue the one-time allowance of 20,000 AMD (currently about USD 66) 
to needy families for children entering the first grade.  This money 
is intended for the purchase of clothing and school supplies, and in 
2007 approximately 10,000 households received this allowance. 
(Note:  The two-fold decrease in the number of recipients over the 
past year is explained by the fact that there were twice as many 
first graders in 2006, the result of a 2006 educational reform that 
lowered the first grade age to 5 years old.  Accordingly, in 2006 
there were twice as many first graders - both 5 and 6 year olds who 
had never been to school - as is normally the case.  End note.) 
There is also an average monthly pension provided to poor families 
that amounts to approximately 17,500 AMD (or USD 58). The total 
depends on the number of children and area of residence of the 
family.  This pension is provided to approximately 125,000 
households. 
 
D) Comprehensive policies aimed at the elimination of the worst 
forms of child labor: 
 
-- There are no new developments to report from the reporting 
period.  The issue of child labor is not addressed by the 
government's 2003-2015 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. 
 
-- The minimum age for completing educational requirements in 
Armenia varies, according to the age when a child first enrolls in 
school.  Generally, primary and basic education is free and 
compulsory through age 14. 
 
E) Continued progress in eliminating the worst forms of child labor: 
 
 
-- In 2004 the National Statistical Service (NSS) had conducted a 
survey entitled "Labor Force and Child Labor in Armenia," located at 
the following address: http://www.armstat.am/Eng/Publications/2005/ 
ashx_het_ang/index.html.  This is the only such survey conducted by 
Armenian government agencies. 
 
-- In 2007, the Armenian Association of Social Workers (AASW) - 
funded by UNICEF - conducted a nationwide survey to gauge underage 
employment in Armenia.  While the release of the final report is 
expected by the end of 2007 or early 2008, Mira Antonyan, president 
of AASW, shared some preliminary data: 
 
-- The AASW interviewed 1066 households located throughout Armenia's 
11 regions, and found that 76 children (or 3.8 percent of all the 
children discovered in these households) were employed, the majority 
of whom (81.6 percent) were boys.  Two-thirds of these children were 
10-16 years old, one-third were 16-18 years old.  According to 
Antonyan, however, this figure does not include a significant number 
of children involved in agricultural work (particularly in rural 
areas) or other work carried out for their families in their 
households.  The survey reaffirmed the widely held opinion that 
household-related work (either agricultural or household chores) is 
considered a normal, essential part of children's upbringing, and an 
integral part of Armenian culture. 
 
-- According to Antonyan, in none of the 76 above-mentioned cases 
was a written contract or written parental or guardian consent 
established between child and employer.  All of the agreements were 
orally made, and there were some anecdotal cases when the employer 
failed to pay the promised wages to the child.  According to 
Antonyan, the law is violated because it does not conform to the 
reality on the ground in Armenia.  She said that the main fault of 
the legislation lay in its aim to restrict child employment; she 
said a law that aimed to protect the rights of children compelled to 
work for various reasons, such as poverty or early departure from 
 
YEREVAN 00001416  003 OF 003 
 
 
the household, would better address the current situation on the 
ground.  Such a law would also encourage employers to provide good 
working conditions and enable the government to subsequently monitor 
compliance with the law. 
 
-- The majority of these 76 children worked either in agriculture 
(rural areas), or in trade and construction as laborers or loaders 
(urban areas).  More than half of these children worked 6 or 7 days 
per week.  The working hours varied, ranging from 4 to 12 hours per 
day, and some were exposed to harsh conditions, including exposure 
to various gas or construction dust, and direct sunlight or cold 
weather over long hours.  The majority of the children performed 
seasonal or random work.  The payment for the work ranged from 1000 
to 2500 AMD (approximately USD 3-8) per day.  According to the 
survey, the vast majority of these children had to work in order to 
sustain their families, who were living in severe poverty. 
 
-- Apart from the UNICEF-funded survey, the AASW independently 
conducted in-depth case studies of 4 dozen working children (not 
included in the 76 found in the survey).  In many of these cases, 
children performed work under hazardous conditions, including the 
collection of metal waste from dumps, cannibalizing and dismantling 
of abandoned construction sites, and even a few cases of mining. 
There were cases when some of the children involved in these 
activities sustained injuries, and others who experienced negative 
long-term effects to their health.  Moreover, according to Antonyan, 
absenteeism from school was high among these working children, which 
jeopardized future employment opportunities.  In some cases children 
performed the labor alongside their parents, but in some cases the 
parents sent their children to work with the expectation that their 
wages would go to the family. 
 
-- The AASW has already presented the results of the survey to 
government officials.  The AASW view is that while the cases remain 
statistically insignificant, they are nevertheless alarming.  Post 
queried government officials on this topic, and found they do not 
share AASW's alarm.  They point instead to the low 3.8 percent 
figure and view it as a positive indicator that child labor is not a 
significant problem in Armenia. 
 
-- There have been no registered cases of children working in 
slavery or practices similar to slavery.  In December 2006, however, 
a court in the city of Gyumri (Armenia's second largest city) ruled 
on the first - and so far only - registered labor trafficking case 
(ref C).  In that case, three victims, one of whom was a 16-year old 
boy, were taken to Russia to work in construction, under conditions 
similar to slavery.  The court sentenced the trafficker to five 
years of imprisonment and ruled for a financial compensation for the 
victims. 
 
-- Itinerant labor migration to Russia has become a well-established 
phenomenon for a significant number of Armenian males, including 
boys.  To combat illegal migration and labor trafficking, in 2006 
and 2007 the Migration Agency (under the Ministry of Territorial 
Administration) has been conducting awareness campaigns with the 
assistance of the Russian Migration Agency in Armenia (RMA). 
Targeting this group of migrants as well as their families, the 
Migration Agency has organized presentations throughout Armenia's 
regions about Russian migration laws, and the dangers of illegal 
migration and trafficking.  On November 7, 2007, the Migration 
Agency signed an MOU with UNDP to launch a local information 
campaign that will introduce the concept of "due diligence" services 
offered at newly established registration centers.  The registration 
centers, or "Safe Labor Migrants Support Points," as they are called 
in UNDP's "Travel Safe Pre-Migration Registration and Due Diligence 
Inquiry Program," will be established in Yerevan, Gyumri and 
Artashat, and provide information to labor migrants designed to 
promote their safe employment abroad. 
 
PENNINGTON