UN Special Rapporteur Highlights Urgent Need to Address Child Rights Violations in Street Situations

Strategic Insights -

Children in street situations face systemic discrimination, routine exclusion from essential services, and are frequently invisible in public planning, said UN Special Rapporteur Mama Fatima Singhateh. The report evaluations current responses by States and child protection stakeholders to this issue, outlining recommendations for strengthening the identification and promotion of effective, child-centred solutions. A comprehensive, child-centred response is needed to upholds the dignity, rights, and best interests of every child in street situations, Singhateh emphasized.

Key Takeaways:

  • Children in street situations are among the most marginalized populations globally, facing systemic discrimination and routine exclusion from essential services.
  • They are frequently excluded from national data collection exercises and household-based surveys, rendering them invisible in public planning.
  • The report emphasizes the need to strengthen national child protection systems, enhance access to services and justice, and ensure that children's voices shape the policies and programmes intended to safeguard them.
  • A reliable, disaggregated data collection system is crucial to ensure that children in street situations are visible within national protection systems.
  • The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the urgent need to recognize children in street situations as among the most marginalized populations globally, and to address their unique vulnerabilities through targeted measures.
  • Without deliberate legal recognition and targeted measures, the risk of street-connected children being left behind or entirely excluded from national development agendas remains alarmingly high.

Statistics:

  • Estimated number of children in street situations worldwide: Not specified
  • Percentage of children in street situations facing systemic discrimination: Not specified
  • Number of countries with effective child protection systems in place: Not specified
  • Current response strategies grounded in the principles of prevention, protection, accountability, participation, and inclusion: Not specified
  • Disaggregated data collection system to support development of effective, evidence-based responses: Not specified

Sources:

  • United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Report by the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh (No specific date mentioned)