Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Child Trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the 2013 Agreement on Cooperation between state institutions and NGOs was revised in 2020, defining multisectoral cooperation for relevant actors in prevention, education, and protection of trafficking victims as well as reporting and prosecution of perpetrators. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that in 2020, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migrations (IOM), it developed Standard Operating Procedures for the identification of victims of human trafficking, in the form of a National Plan for Formal Identification and following which it established a Team for Formal Identification of Victims of Trafficking. The Identification Team is responsible for: (1) identifying victims, the status of “victim” does not depend on whether there are ongoing criminal proceedings; (2) coordinating the initial referral and protection of persons presumed to be victims of human trafficking; (3) carrying out the procedure of formal identification of victims of human trafficking; (4) achieving communication and cooperation with local partners; (5) visiting locations where vulnerable categories reside; and (6) quarterly informing the Minister of the Interior about the results of this work.

The Committee notes that the Identification Team identified: (1) 10 victims of trafficking in 2020, 6 girls and 4 boys, including 6 victims of forced begging; (2) 5 victims of trafficking in 2021, 4 girls and 1 boy, including 1 victim of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 2 victims of forced begging; and (3) 10 victims of trafficking in 2022, including 3 victims for forced begging. The Government also indicates that it set-up an SOS hotline for victims of trafficking, which so far received mostly calls regarding requests for information, but which also identified several potential victims.

The Committee also notes the Government’s information regarding various trainings provided to professionals in 2021 to strengthen their capacities in the fight against human trafficking, and the identification and care of victims. The Committee also takes due note of the Government’s detailed information, in its report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), on the continuous trainings and education intended for law enforcement authorities, conducted in cooperation with and through institutions responsible for training of civil servants and employees.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that, with regard to the increased risk of trafficking and exploitation along migration routes, especially when it comes to children and women, the Ministry of the Interior produced and distributed multilingual material (translated into English and Arabic) on rights and assistance services for victims of trafficking in 2019 (CEDAW/C/MNE/3, 11 November 2021, paragraph 100). The Committee also notes, from the 2021 Evaluation Report of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA Report), the recommendation that the Government should strengthen its efforts to identify child victims of trafficking, including: (1) ensure that the Standard Operating Procedures on the identification of victims of trafficking, are effectively implemented; and (2) provide further training and tools to stakeholders (police, prosecutors, asylum and migration authorities, service providers, NGOs, child protection authorities, social workers) on the identification of child victims of trafficking for different forms of exploitation (paragraph 193). The Committee takes due note of the Government’s efforts and requests it to continue to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to strengthen the capacity and efficiency of the anti-trafficking coordinating mechanisms as well as the law enforcement officials in identifying child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation; and (ii) the number of cases of trafficking of children identified by the Team for Formal Identification of Victims of Trafficking. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, as well as the nature of the penalties imposed.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Roma and Egyptian children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it updated and adopted the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy of Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro 2021–25. It also takes note of the Government’s continued efforts to facilitate access to education of Roma and Egyptian children, including in the framework of the Action Plan, and notes in particular: (1) in March 2022, it organized a massive campaign to promote the enrolment of Roma and Egyptian children at all levels of education; (2) the distribution of free textbooks for all children in primary school; (3) free school transportation for 600 primary school students of Roma and Egyptian communities; (4) scholarships were awarded to high school students in the amount of €60 per month; and (5) the hiring of 22 associates (mediators) in primary schools, involved in the organization of student transportation and in monitoring the regularity of school attendance of Roma and Egyptian students, which had the effect of reducing the drop-out rates of Roma and Egyptian children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that school enrolment rates for the school year 2021–22 remained stable for Roma and Egyptian children compared with 2017–18: 192 children attended pre-school, 1,856 children attended primary school and 207 children attended secondary school. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s continued efforts to facilitate access of Roma and Egyptian children to free basic education so as to prevent them from engaging in the worst forms of child labour and it requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and the results obtained. In this regard, it requests that the Government ensure that the information provided includes information on the measures taken, and the results achieved, to increase school enrolment and completion rates and reduce school drop-out rates of Roma and Egyptian children, especially girls.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child victims of trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, through the implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation between state institutions and NGOs, the Identification Teams ensures that child victims of trafficking receive social and psychological assistance, health services, legal aid and child protection, as well as continued education and reintegration into society. In the period 2020–22, shelters for victims of trafficking accommodated 58 victims of trafficking, including 22 minors. In addition, the Government indicates that Centres for social work: (1) provide support to child victims of trafficking, as well as children at risk of underage marriage and children found in begging; (2) place children in shelters when appropriate or help them stay with their families; and (3) provide guidance for the children’s education or vocational training, according to their needs.

While it notes the Government’s information, the Committee notes, from the GRETA Report, the recommendations that the Government should strengthen its efforts to provide child victims of trafficking with adequate assistance, in particular: (1) ensure that child victims of trafficking benefit from specialized accommodation and services across the country; (2) ensure that a proper risk assessment is conducted before returning children to their parents, taking into account the best interests of the child; and (3) provide long-term monitoring of the social inclusion of child victims of trafficking (paragraph 193). The Committee therefore requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect child victims of trafficking and to provide information on the number of children who have been rehabilitated and socially integrated.