The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has published a general comment on Children in Street Situations. In UN parlance, a General Comment has the force of a Convention, in this instance the Convention on the Rights of the Child which was first published in 1989. The Comment is the first detailed reference to street children in the Convention and lays out detailed, concrete steps for guaranteeing their rights. The general comment establishes authoritative guidance for Governments on how they can recognize street-connected children’s rights in practice. CIESPI/PUC-Rio had the pleasure to work with the Consortium for Street Children in this initiative. The International Consortium also reminds its colleagues that while the Convention on the Rights of the Child lays down important provisions for the treatment of children and youth, it is up to the country signatories of the Convention to implement those provisions. But the existence for the first time of provisions on street children gives powerful ammunition to colleagues across the world in fighting in their own countries for the protections of street-connected children’s rights.
