CRC/C/GC/21
I. Introduction: “change our story”
1.
Children in street situations consulted for the present general comment spoke
strongly about the need for respect, dignity and rights. In expressing their feelings, they said,
inter alia: “Respect us as human beings”; “I would like for people who have never lived on
the streets to see us as persons with pride, like normal people”; “It’s not about getting us off
the streets and into shelters. It’s about giving us a status”; “Governments should not say we
should not be on the streets. They should not harass us if on the streets. We should be
accepted”; “Living on the street does not mean that we cannot have rights”; “The street
leaves its mark: either you get out or you don’t”; “We don’t want help, charity, pity.
Governments should work with the community to give us rights. We’re not asking for
charity. I want to become someone to fend for myself”; “[People] should give us a chance
to use our gifts and talents to achieve our dreams”; “Give us the opportunity to change our
story”.1
II. Overall context
Purpose
2.
In the present general comment, the Committee on the Rights of the Child provides
authoritative guidance to States on developing comprehensive, long-term national strategies
on children in street situations using a holistic, child rights approach and addressing both
prevention and response in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. While the
Convention makes no explicit reference to them, all of its provisions are applicable to
children in street situations, who experience violations of a large majority of the
Convention’s articles.
Consultations
3.
In total, 327 children and young people from 32 countries were consulted in seven
regional consultations. Civil society representatives responded to a general call for
submissions, and an advanced draft was shared with all States parties.
Terminology
4.
In the past, the terms used to describe children in street situations have included
“street children”, “children on the street”, “children of the street”, “runaway children”,
“throwaway children”, “children living and/or working on the street”, “homeless children”
and “street-connected children”. In the present general comment, the term “children in
street situations” is used to comprise: (a) children who depend on the streets to live and/or
work, whether alone, with peers or with family; and (b) a wider population of children who
have formed strong connections with public spaces and for whom the street plays a vital
role in their everyday lives and identities. This wider population includes children who
periodically, but not always, live and/or work on the streets and children who do not live or
work on the streets but who regularly accompany their peers, siblings or family in the
streets. Concerning children in street situations, “being in public spaces” is understood to
include spending a significant amount of time on streets or in street markets, public parks,
1
All quotations are from consultations or written submissions for the present general comment.
Respectively, they are from: children in Bangladesh (written submission from Dhaka); children in
Latin America (consultation in Mexico); a 15-year-old boy from Brazil; an 18-year-old boy and girl
from India; children and young people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; children and
young people in Europe (consultation in Brussels); a 16-year-old boy from Pakistan; a boy from
Burundi; and an 18-year-old boy from Brazil.
3