Under the auspices of the MOLSS CLU, and with IPEC support, a group of experts undertook a wide-ranging review process that included an overview of the child labour situation in Turkey and the national response; IPEC activities and strategies to combat child labour; and policy, legislative and institutional mechanisms governing areas related to child labour. Based on this analysis, a “Policy Framework for the Elimination of Child Labour in Turkey ” draft report was prepared and presented for comment at multi-sectoral platforms in seven regions of the country. This draft was further refined to incorporate the comments of participants in three different national consultative workshops that involved government authorities and all areas of civil society – employer's organizations, workers and artisans groups, local and national NGOs, universities and international organizations active in Turkey . Finally, a comprehensive draft TBPPF document for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour was produced for comment of all interested parties, including the public as of late 2002. This draft clearly articulates a set of comprehensive policies, objectives, indicators, outputs, target groups, activities and responsibilities for the effective elimination of child labour, in particular its worst forms. It focuses on consolidating and building on the achievements of previous years, with the objective of expanding successful pilot schemes, particularly with respect to reinforcing the involvement of a wider range of national organizations. The TBPPF takes a holistic approach to a multi-faceted problem, taking into consideration the links between child labour and the socio-cultural and economic conditions within which it occurs.

The TBPPF delineates the roles of all participating organizations and will act as a guide in the successful implementation of co-operative efforts across sectors. Within this framework of principles and commitment, the Government has adopted as its basic target the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) within a period of 10 years. In order to achieve its goal, the Government will wage an attack on the main causes of child labour, including poverty and a lack of access to quality education.

The Government's priority policy areas for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour for the period 2004-2014 are as follows: (a) Poverty alleviation s (b) Reducing household vulnerability (c) Education for All ( d) Elimination of the WFCL as a matter of urgency; Within the framework of the TBPPF, the Government aims to consolidate and build on the achievements of previous years in order to expand successful pilot schemes, with particular emphasis on strengthening and expanding involvement of a wider range of national organizations. TBPPF also highlights the need ensure co-ordination of rehabilitative activities with ongoing and planned social sector initiatives, especially those in the areas of poverty alleviation and education. Emphasis also given to synchronize the rehabilitation of working children with anti-poverty measures, vocational training and income-generation opportunities for the families of working children and ensuring gender sensitivity in actions taken and in analysis of needs and opportunities.

In response to commitments made by the Turkish Government, as part of a USDOL-funded programme, IPEC agreed to provide support to the implementation of the national TBPPF through a Time-Bound Programme Support Project. This was developed in support of and in accord with the TBPPF and Turkey's 8th Five-Year Development Plan and has given due consideration to ensuring complementarily with the programmes of other donors, particularly the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. The IPEC Support Project was formulated in close consultation with governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, and other donor organizations.  It takes into account lessons learned from the previous country programmes as well as national policies, priorities and strategies. In developing the Support project IPEC launched a comprehensive set of activities involving research, consultation and advocacy at various levels throughout the country.

The main objective of the TBPPF is the elimination of the WFCL in Turkey within 10 years, starting with selected priority forms. Due to the government's present limited capacity to co-ordinate and monitor child labour-related policies and programmes throughout the country, especially at the local level, IPEC will assist it to develop this capacity in two ways: a) organizing a common framework for all child labour activities in Turkey (conducted by all agencies, including UNICEF, NGOs, etc); and b) testing the feasibility of this framework through demonstration activities. These demonstration activities will use the models that were developed over the last few years and show how they can be scaled up to cover an entire area or sector and how they can be replicated in new areas without outside funding.

The process by which the Support Project strategies were developed was government-led and based on national programmes and goals identified by the TBPPF. It involved the broad-based participation of employers (T ISK and TESK) , workers (TÜRK-IS, HAK-IS and DISK), civil society and universities in all operational steps. It also involved the coordinated participation of all development partners that is bi-laterals, and multi-laterals, each bringing its comparative advantages to support government efforts for the elimination of child labour. By involving stakeholders in the early preparation and planning stages, the government ensured that the Support Project included issues of specific interest to individual stakeholders as well as modalities and instruments for measuring desired changes, which in turn garnered support and commitment towards implementation of the TBPPF.