Calls to protect the world’s street children
Last Friday (20 November), over a thousand individuals and organisations, including hundreds of Christians, demanded the rights of street children to be realised on the anniversary of the day that the world promised to protect children’s rights.
The Toybox charity has been working with the Consortium for Street Children, a network of 50
organisations operating in over 120 countries, to draw attention to the estimated 100 million street children whose rights are as elusive as ever.
In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Consortium for Street Children launched a campaign and online petition drawing attention to the unacceptable and horrendous levels of violence street children face from the police around the world. This includes targeted round-ups, particularly in the lead up to large international events.
In the space of one month over a thousand individuals and organisations, representing 69 countries, signed the petition demanding an end to all violence against street children.
Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that children should be protected from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education.
Erick is eight years old, and he is a shoe shiner. Every day he works between six and eight hours on the streets of Oruro, Bolivia trying to earn enough money to support his mother, father and four younger siblings. The work is tiring, difficult and dangerous.
Erick has to dodge traffic in the busy market place, and endure the weather - harsh sun or torrential rain. His hands are cracked and blackened by the shoe shining polish. By the end of the day, he is so tired that the thought of school or study is all but impossible.
Twenty years after the United Nations adopted the Convention, multitudes of children like Erick are still working or suffering from poverty, abuse and disease, says Toybox. Each year around the world, four million babies die before they are a month old; 150 million children are engaged in child labour; more than 500 million are affected by violence, and 51 million have not even had their births registered, according to the United Nations.
The UN Convention, ratified by every country except the United States and Somalia, calls on nations to protect children from abuse and sexual exploitation, reduce child mortality and give children access to health care and education.
There have been successes. Fewer young children are dying or underfed, more are attending school and getting vaccinated and dozens of countries have adopted laws recognising child rights.
Erick is one of the more fortunate ones. He now attends a Toybox project, which is supporting him so that he can study and attend school. He has reduced the hours that he is working and has more hope for the future, and the potential to work his way out of poverty.
