SHORT TERM NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY FOR THE SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IPA III ON “ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF JOINT COLLABORATION” PROJECT

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In recent decades, Türkiye has shown significant social and economic development, achieving substantial results in reducing poverty and improving access to basic services for the most vulnerable population.  Nevertheless, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), this ratio of individuals at risk of poverty and social exclusion is 38.9% (2024) for children in 0-17 age group, whereas the relative poverty rate is 13.6% (2024).  Although laws and regulations in Türkiye are fully aligned with ILO Conventions (138 and 182) and do prohibit child labour, the gaps in monitoring, reporting and following-up, and the shortcomings in enforcement of laws hinder a complete elimination of child labour across the country . According to TURKSTAT’s Child Labour Force Survey (2019), 720,000 Turkish children are engaged in or at risk of child labour. 70% of these children are boys and 30% are girls. The proportion of working children in the 5-17 age group is 4.4%. 45.5% of these children work in the service sector; 30.8% work in agriculture; and 23.7% in industrial manufacturing. A significant number of these children have limited access to education. Despite the lack of comprehensive data, child labour is reported to be prevalent among refugee children as well. UNICEF Türkiye Office (TCO) studies show that a considerable number of refugee children of all ages in Türkiye engage in child labour.

For every child, inclusivity

Background: 

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS) and UNICEF TCO in partnership with multisectoral public, private and CSO partners, have been leading national efforts in combatting child labour. In this regard, “Elimination of Child Labour Through the Development of Joint Cooperation” Project has been developed to improve national efforts in addressing child labour.

The overall objective of the Project, co-funded by the European Union and UNICEF TCO which is implemented by the MoLSS DG Labour with technical support of UNICEF TCO, is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of national system on the elimination of child labour in Türkiye. Final beneficiaries of the project are the children engaged in or at risk of child labour and their parents and caregivers in Türkiye.

The Project aims to achieve two main outcomes through below key programme components (between June 2025 – May 2028):

 

1. Strengthening the national system in combatting child labour

• Development of a new national policy and programme framework on combatting child labour informed by sectoral child labour prevalence analyses and impact assessment of the previous national programme.
• Development of standard operational procedures for provincial units combatting child labour.
• Development and implementation of action plans at local level.

1. Strengthening the capacity of non-governmental stakeholders in combatting child labour in all forms and sectors

• Monitoring, prevention, reporting and responding capacity of CSOs, business stakeholders, professional organizations, and universities.
• Developing and disseminating guiding documents for different stakeholders on how to contribute to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and combating all forms.
• Providing technical and financial support to CSOs and social partners’ programmes on combatting child labour

For footnotes please see ToR.