Street children: from voiceless to vocal

On 9^th March the United Nations Human Rights Council dedicated a day to discussing street children’s rights. CSC played a leading role in the preparations, organisation and development of the day and surrounding events, by coordinating NGO responses and sitting on the UN steering Committee. This was the first time in almost two decades that street children were given such full attention at UN level, and therefore the 9^th March marked a unique renewed interest in the rights of street children at global and national policy levels. At the end of March the Resolution was ratified by all 47 countries and supported by the USA. It calls for key changes for street children, especially free birth registration and the need for accurate research on the numbers of these children and the specific issues they face.

The CSC-lef All Party Parliamentary Group on Street Children: The Resolution: Next Steps took place on 31^st March – the purpose of which was to discuss the implications of the Resolution. The speakers included Patrick Shanahan, who gave a précis of his speech in Geneva and Sarah Thomas de Benitez who provided an overview of her study highlighting the gaps in research. Ambassadors, NGOs and parliamentarians pledged to work together on behalf of street children.