Starting in 1992, International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour is a special program of International Labour Organization (ILO – IPEC). Currently ILO – IPEC is operating in 88 countries despite it started functioning in six countries only. The program of IPEC is based on political will and interest of governments of different countries to the promlem of child labour, in co-operation with associations of employers and trade unions, non-government organizations and other civil institutions.

 

Ukraine was one of the first countries to ratify the core ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Form of Child Labour (ratified in October 2000) . By ratifying this Convention along with a number of international instruments, the Gov­ernment of Ukraine committed itself to take all necessary measures to address child labour issues at the country level, including legislative reforms and allocation of resources.

 

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Internation­al Labour Organization, represented by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, and the Ukrainian Government was signed in June 2002. Pursuant to the Memorandum, the National Steering Committee (NSC) was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Minister acts as the NSC Chairperson. The ILO-IPEC priorities and strategies are agreed with and endorsed by the ILO national partners within regular NSC meetings. In December 2008, the Memorandum was amended and extended for the next 5 years.

 

Since March 2000, the ILO IPEC, Ukraine focuses on three main strategic componentsin its activities.

 

• Lobbying to bring legislation, policy and in­stitutional framework in line with international commitments and specifically ensure that na­tional policies address the special needs of children trafficked internally and across bor­ders for sexual exploitation or for labour;

 

• In selected high risk areas, pilot projects 1/ provide direct services to children at risk / in­volved in WFCL in the selected pilot localities; 2/ promote youth employment (particularly through education and job counselling) and peer education in youth centres for prevention of trafficking and reintegration of trafficked victims, 3/ enhance capacity of professionals for the psychosocial rehabilitation of children victims of trafficking, 4/ establish, pilot and support the up-scaling at the national level of Child Labour Monitoring System (CLMS);

 

• Strengthen knowledge management at na­tional and sub-regional levels by 1/ production of manuals and promotion of their usage; 2/ documentation, validation, and dissemination of good practices in combating the WFCL.

 

• Composing and improvement of data base containing best practices on national and sub-regional level.

 

 

 

The main achievements of ILO-IPEC Program in Ukraine are as follows:

 

1.               Combating child labour became a part of national legislation (The Law on Childhood Protection, Criminal Code etc.), and considered in number of National Programs, such as State Programme National Action Plan of Effective Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child till 2016.

 

2.            As a result of ILO-IPEC Ukraine project interventions, 5,750 children were withdrawn and prevented from the WFCL, including trafficking in children through provision of services, including pre-vocational counselling, vocational education and training, career guidance, job placement, extra-curricular activities, non-formal education classes, tutoring, health services, psycho-social counselling, legal counselling, material support (school supplies, transpor­tation and sets of tools/equipment for vocational training courses, etc.).

 

Over 4,000 parents of ex(working) children or children at risk received legal counselling on: 1/ existing employment opportunities, 2/ schemes and courses of re­training for the unemployed under the Public Employment Service, 3/ available schemes of public social assistance to poor families. They were also sensitized on child labour issues and informed on the consequences of early work for their children.

 

3. 993 specialists were trained on the way of combat child labour, such as representatives of various public institutions, organizations of employers and trade unions, NGOs, teachers, journalists, representatives of youths organizations and others.

 

4. Some unique researches were made, including: ILO Child Labour Survey conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, 1999, “Baseline Survey on Child Labour in Selected Regions” conducted by the Center of Social Expertise of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, 2002, “Rapid Assessment of Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Ukraine” conducted by the Center of Social Expertise of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, 2003, “Rapid Assessment Survey on the Use of Child Labour in Six Sectors of the Informal Economy in Ukraine” conducted by the Center of Social Expertise of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, 2006, “Rapid Assessment Survey on Risks and Hazards of Child Labour in Agriculture” conducted by the specialist from the National OSH Institute, 2008.

 

5. A number of working tools and materi­als were issued, such as:

-        ILO “SCREAM” - Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, Arts and Media, 2008

-        Sub-Regional Manual on Psycho-Social Rehabili­tation of Children Withdrawn from Trafficking and other WFCL, 2007

-        ILO Practical Guide to Child Labour Reporting, 2006

-        Manual “Promotion of youth employment and pre­vention of child labour in Ukraine”, prepared by the Public Employment Service of Ukraine, 2007

-        Life Skills Manual for trainers, 2008

-        Manual “Child Labour Monitoring System in Ukraine”, 2008