Street children are not disposable – They have rights, too.
Geneva (12 April 2015) – Speaking for the International Day for Street Children, two United Nations human rights experts reminded States that every child matters and that there are no throw-away children. The UN Special Rapporteurs on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, and on adequate housing, Leilani Farha, called on States to invest in children working or living on the street and to guarantee their full access to rights and services, including housing, health and education.
“Abandoned, casted off, discarded, rejected and thrown out: up to 150 million children in street situations worldwide endure great deprivation and rights violations, with little to no regard given to their best interest,” the experts said. These children are escaping from poverty, inadequate housing, broken families, domestic violence, displacement, natural disasters, conflicts and wars. They take to the streets because there is simply nowhere else to go. Once on the street they suffer from discrimination and stigmatization………
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Children Working and/or Living on the Street (A/HRC/19/35)
UN RESOLUTION FOR PROTECTION & PROMOTION OF RIGHTS OF CHILDREN WORKING & LIVING ON THE STREET - GIRLS
Click first to document page and then click on UN Official Language translation of choice to read Full Resolution.
UN Site - Children Working and/or Living on the Street Including Report Overview:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Study/Pages/childrenonthestreet.aspx
Link to Street Children Report: Still on the Street - Still Short of Rights
http://plan-international.org/files/global/publications/protection/street_children_report_2011.pdf
BANGLADESH STREET CHILDREN PHOTO EXHIBITION
There are approximately 52,000 girls living on Dhaka's streets. Here, a girl carries out a basic household chore, even though she doesn't have a house to live in. Photo by Sabina.
STREET CHILDREN REPORT LAUNCHED AT UN
March 2011: Street children need greater protection and recognition if the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, says a major report launched at the United Nations.
The Still on the street – still short of rights report, commissioned by Plan and the Consortium of Street Children (CSC), highlights the dangers and challenges street children face and how their rights have been ignored by governments and the international community.
Children Speak Out
The report was launched at the 16th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where a street child from Benin shared the stage with Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children, and called on governments to do more to protect rights for children like her.
"Countries have to take the problems of street children seriously. We need protection, care and to be able to go to school. Free education should be available for all children and more especially for girls," says 18-year-old Severine, who was forced to live and work on Benin's streets.
Birth Registration Key
Plan's Head of Global Advocacy Nadya Kassam says: "Street children are some of the most excluded in our societies. Often without carers, they can be more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse – such as rape, kidnap, or being used for illegal and hazardous work.
"But having a birth certificate means they have a legal identity, which makes them visible to the authorities who must take responsibility for providing education, health and protective services."
Call for Action
Plan and CSC are calling for governments and the international community to:
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focus greater attention on marginalised children in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
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put in place and adequately fund national child protection and child welfare systems that are sensitive to the rights of street children
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recognise that the factors that lead to a children living or working on the street are complex and organisations working with street children need to tailor their responses
- provide appropriate gender and child rights training for all those who work with street children.
Direct Link to Street Children Report
International Day for Street Children – April 12
Извор: WUNRN – 12.04.2015
