Expert Consultation on promoting and
protecting the rights of children
working and/or living on the street:
Bridging the gaps between policy and
practice
Some conclusions
and recommendations
Conclusions
Setting the scene : whom ?
- This is not a homogeneous group : many typologies , many
situations in which children find themselves on the streets
- Children who have developed connections to the street
(street connected children): the street represents a
meaningful point of reference for them – for daily lives and
building identities.
- Children with fragile connections to their families : “ children
at risk of taking to the street”
Every child and their situation is unique
Setting the scene : why ?
• Various root causes : the circumstances which can bring a child to
find him or herself in a street situation are many
• Push factors that encourage/push children to go to the street
• Pull factors, which make the street attractive to the child – and
which make it difficult for a child to leave the streets
• Some Indicators : poverty, inequalities, violence, poor education ,
slum living conditions, lack of support systems, substance abuse
Causes and triggers are many and vary from one situation to
another,
since each is unique
Setting the scene : How many ?
• According to guesstimates, the global number goes up to
hundreds of millions – but data collection is lacking to make
reasonable estimates
• The full extent of the phenomenon is not known
• The numbers fluctuate, according to :
- Evolution of the socio-economic, political and sociocultural contexts
- Protection systems and services available
- Growing and anarchic urbanization ( slum living
conditions)
Likely to be increasing because of growing inequalities and
persistence of other underlying factors
Setting the scene :
Voices of children and street life experiences
• Gathering voices of children +++ in order to :
 learn from them
- Identify the connections they establish to the streets
and how they use them
- Identify the challenges/risks they face
- Identify the skills, abilities they develop on street
- Develop better understandings and knowledge base
 listen to them
- Take into account their opinions, views and proposals in
elaboration of targeted strategies/programmes
- Involve them in the implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of these strategies/programmes
Ensuring participation of these children is critical to
understanding and designing interventions
Main challenges and risks
for children in street situations
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Violence: physical, psychological, sexual...
Illnesses (HIV)…
Abuse of substances (glue, alcohol and other drugs)
Sexual exploitation, trafficking, sale, forced labour
Girls in street situations often face more difficulties than boys early
pregnancy, dual stigmatization
No registration and no identity documents – denial of access to
services
Negative perceptions : seen and treated as threats, delinquents,
criminals
Marginalization, stigmatization…
Lose hope and desire to live
Used by criminal gangs (drugs, guns..)
Death, disappearance
Multiple violations of their rights – before they develop
street connections and once in the streets.
Framework of child protection systems
Inadequate responses
Need for :
Comprehensive, inter connected/related, rights and gender
based child Protection Systems
• Child rights perspective : Children rights holders and Duty
bearers (Primary , secondary, tertiary and external)
• Clear, explicit roles, responsibilities and processes
• Legislation, policies, institutions, services, resources, training
• Targeting street connected children, considering effects of
multiple deprivations and understanding his or her street
connections – specialized interventions (tailor-made)
• Family support (sensitive support for parenting, building on
strengths, focus on rights)
• Preventive measures targeting children at risk to go to street(
fragile connections ) – responding to multiple violations
• Child participation
• Building alliance beyond CPS with other partners
•
Promising practices and lessons learned
Various programmes with a view to supporting children where they are - ie in
the street and their other environments: outreach, sport, education/ training,
health/wellbeing, safety, awareness, child protection networks, children
empowerment, advocacy…
•
Involvement of private sector : funding, volunteering and advocating
•
Prevention and service provision – government-led multi-stakeholder design
of local policies; social protection programmes to include fragile families
•
Family support – economic support for fragile families; psycho-social support
on roles and responsibilities in families
But – need agreed criteria across all levels of practice – from law making to onstreet support interventions
•
Criteria for ‘Good Practice’ with street connected children
- Five cross-cutting criteria : Best interests of the child; Non-discrimination;
Participation ; Accountability; Sustainability
- Five normative criteria : Safety , Availability , Accessibility, Quality, Flexibility
Collecting and using data to promote and
protect the rights of the child
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Lack of reliable data : Need for quantitative and qualitative data, appropriately
collected and analysed with the participation of children
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Difficulties : access to children, mobility of children, different methodologies, multiple
definitions and concepts, lack of investment, lack of policy leadership, risk of political
manipulation
•
Good practices : involving children and street workers in research - collecting and
sharing information; repeat research; mechanisms for data collection and dissemination
•
Global concern should be less about rising numbers and more about:
- the persistence of conditions that force children to end up on streets;
- the typologies, street lives, street territories, social organisation, street experiences;
- the risks of abuse and exploitation they face;
- the multiple violations of their rights
Need for establishing standards for data collection and interpretation
Improve Children’s participation in research process and information sharing
Some Recommendations
Steps forward
1. Finalization and presentation of study
1. Advocacy at international , regional and national
levels : States (UN Human Rights Council and
General Assembly); UN agencies and
mechanisms (Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures);
International financial institutions (World Bank);
Regional and National Human rights institutions;
Private Sector; NGOs; media
3. Follow up and monitoring
1. Finalization and Presentation of Study
• Final OHCHR doc by end 2011, to incorporate: State
& Webpage contributions; expert consultation
discussions; global research paper; children’s views
paper
• Lobbying of States to support study presentation at
HRC and to commit to concrete follow-ups of study
at State and International levels
• Press conference and side event after HRC
presentation in Geneva
2. Advocacy: UN Mechanisms
• Invite Committee on the Rights of the Child to develop a
General Comment on ‘Non-Discrimination and Children with
Street Connections’ to provide guidance to States
• Request that CRC concluding observations include information
on street connected children and policies – particularly on
fulfillment of these children’s rights
• Ensure that this study is reflected in the Universal Periodic
Review process
• Ensure that phase 2 of the study on violence against children
pays particular attention to violence against street connected
children
• Invite Special Procedures to pay particular attention during
their country visits to street connected children
Advocacy: Regional and National Human
Rights Bodies, Financial Institutions and
Private Sector, NGO networks
• Share and disseminate study through these
bodies
• Organize regional and sub-regional meetings
to develop and share promising practices,
including legal, budgeting and economic
policies as well as in the social protection
arena
Advocacy: Media & Internet
• Inform child rights journalists to raise
awareness about the study and follow up
actions
• Develop links on this study with all
stakeholders
3. Follow-Up and Monitoring
• UN Mechanisms and agencies, Regional and National
Human Rights Bodies, NGOs, Private Sector, and Media
• Get this issue, through use of the study, onto the agendas
of existing mechanisms that address related issues
• Interdisciplinary working group (UN, States, NGOs, private
sector, academia, street connected children/youth ) to
follow up on implementation of the study
recommendations – eg converting criteria of good practice
into guidance for practitioners and policy makers; eg
pursuing the idea of developing standards and methods of
data collection and dissemination