UNICEF appeals for children protection in Albania
Xinhua, June 12, 2015 Adjust font size:
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Thursday drew the attention of Albanian authorities to take concrete measures to stop the phenomenon of children's exploitation for labor, the Albanian Daily News reported.
Citing figures of Albanian National Institute of Statistics, the report said that 57,000 children work in Albania during 2012.
Children of the age between 5 and 13 constitute 28.5 percent of the working children while 80 percent of working children are engaged in agriculture in unpaid work in their own lands.
The national study of UNICEF for children in street situation reports 2,500 children in street situation in Albania, who are engaged in dangerous work, mainly begging or washing car windows. Working children in most of the cases are left out of the education system up to abandoning school.
Under the Albanian law, children of ages 6-16 must attend school. The lack of access to qualitative and comprehensive education is one of main reasons that forces children to engage in work.
UNICEF called on authorities to take proper measures to prevent dangerous works for all Albanian children and to guarantee qualitative and comprehensive education to them. Endit