The plight of street children.

1993/81. The plight of street children

The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a major contribution to the protection of the rights of all children, Recalling also the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s, adopted by the World Summit for Children on 30 September 1990 (A/45/625, annex), the World Declaration on Education for All adopted by the World Conference on Education for All, held at Jomtien, Thailand, from 5 to 9 March 1990, chapter 25 of Agenda 21 adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3 to 14 June 1992, and General Assembly resolution 47/126 of 18 December 1992, Reaffirming that children are a particularly vulnerable group in society whose rights require special protection and that children living under especially difficult conditions, for example on the street, deserve special attention, protection and assistance from their families and communities as well as on a national and international level, Profoundly concerned that the killing of and violence against street children deprives them of, or threatens, the most fundamental right of all, the right to life, Recognizing that all children have the right to health, shelter and education, to an adequate standard of living and to freedom from violence and harassment, Deeply concerned over the growing number of street children worldwide and the squalid conditions in which these children are forced to live, Recognizing the duty and responsibility of Governments to investigate all cases of offences against street children and to punish offenders, Recognizing also that legislation per se is not enough to prevent violations of human rights, including those of street children, and that Governments should implement their laws and complement legislative measures with effective action, inter alia in the fields of law enforcement and the administration of justice, Welcoming the efforts taken by some Governments to address the question of street children, Welcoming also the publicity given to and the increased awareness of the plight of street children and the achievements of non-governmental organizations in promoting their rights and in providing practical assistance to improve their situation, and expressing its appreciation of their continued efforts, Welcoming further the valuable work of the United Nations Children's Fund and its National Committees in reducing the suffering of street children, Taking note with appreciation of the important work carried out in this field by the United Nations, in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, Bearing in mind the diverse causes of the emergence and marginalization of street children, including poverty, rural-to-urban migration, unemployment, broken families, intolerance and exploitation, and aware that serious socio-economic difficulties can aggravate these problems, Reaffirming that international cooperation can help to improve the quality of life of children in every country,

1. Expresses grave concern at the growing number of incidents worldwide and reports of street children being involved in and affected by serious crime, drug abuse, violence and prostitution;

2. Urges Governments to continue actively to seek comprehensive ways to prevent the marginalization of children in society and the emergence of the phenomenon of street children;

3. Also urges Governments, meanwhile, to take measures to restore street children's full participation in society, to involve street children in the development of such programmes and to provide, inter alia, adequate nutrition, shelter, health care and education;

4. Calls upon all States that have not done so to become parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a matter of priority;

5. Emphasizes that strict compliance with the provisions of the Convention, which is obligatory for States parties, would constitute a significant step towards solving the problems of street children;

6. Encourages States parties to the Convention, in preparing their reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to bear this problem in mind and to consider requesting or indicating their need for technical advice and assistance with initiatives aimed at improving the situation of street children, in accordance with article 45 of the Convention;

7. Invites Governments, United Nations bodies and organizations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to cooperate with each other and to ensure greater awareness and more effective action to solve the problem of street children by, among other measures, the dissemination of information and the exchange of views;

8. Calls upon the international community to support, through effective international cooperation, the efforts of States to improve the situation of street children, by, among other measures, supporting development projects that can have a positive impact on the situation of street children;

9. Invites the Committee on the Rights of the Child to consider the possibility of a general comment on street children;

10. Recommends that the Committee on the Rights of the Child and other relevant treaty bodies bear this growing problem in mind when examining reports from States parties;

11. Calls upon special rapporteurs, special representatives and working groups of the Commission on Human Rights and of the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, within their mandates, to pay particular attention to the plight of street children;

12. Decides to consider the question at its fiftieth session under the agenda item "Rights of the child".

67th meeting
10 March 1993
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XXIV.]