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Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In addition, several organizations highlighted that there was a normative gap at the international level and persistent obstacles to the protection of women subjected to gender-based violence, for example the normalization of sexual violence against women or an emphasis on preserving marriages and family rather than addressing men’s impunity for family violence. Concern was expressed about the spiral of fundamentalism and extremism that was currently contributing to exacerbating violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations added that a new treaty could make clear the necessity to ensure consistency across different domestic legal regimes. In some States, domestic violence might be a criminal offence, but it was still intrinsically accepted through other procedures, such as mediation and conciliation in family law proceedings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990, para. a
- Paragraph text
- State Parties to the present Charter shall take appropriate measures to prevent: the abduction, sale of, or traffick in children for any purpose or in any form, by any person including parents or legal guardians of the child;
- Body
- Organization of African Unity
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- In addition, she wishes to explore further the link between mixed migration flows and trafficking, in order to recommend effective measures, aimed at preventing exploitation or further exploitation of socially vulnerable people fleeing death, torture or other forms of violence such as domestic violence, or unemployment, destitution and extreme poverty. That includes exploring ways to increase opportunities for regular migration and family reunification, and for non-exploitative employment, with the aim of preventing trafficking by ensuring full respect of migrants' rights, in line with the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Servile marriage and domestic servitude are two forms of contemporary slavery that disproportionately affect women and girls. In a previous report, the Special Rapporteur defined servile marriage as an arrangement "in which a spouse is reduced to a commodity over whom any or all the powers of ownership are attached" (A/HRC/21/41, summary). Practices such as polygamy and "bride price", especially when coupled with the prevalence of domestic violence, are possible indicators of servile marriage. Women's bodies are directly tied to a family's honour in many cultures, and if a girl refuses to marry, "she can be subject to character assassination or kidnapping by the man or his family to force her into marriage or to rape her" (ibid., para. 71). There is little to no legal protection for women in these situations in many countries. Some countries have gone so far as to enact legislation that acquits perpetrators of rape if they marry their victim. If a woman enters into a servile marriage, she essentially becomes a slave to her husband and his family.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- A number of sources have reported that children are subjected to contemporary slavery in Ghanaian fisheries by "fisher-entrepreneurs" or middlemen who take them far from their homes to work in fisheries. Recruiters reportedly deceive families with promises of educational opportunities in exchange for a few hours of work each day. Children are also often promised cash or in-kind payments for their labour, such as a cow for boys or a sewing machine for girls. Parents may be offered an advance for their child's work, thus placing the child in a situation of debt bondage. Lake Volta is a popular destination for child slaves, as fishery resources have been depleted and children are considered cheap sources of labour. Tasks in the fishing sector are gendered: boys paddle canoes, pull in nets and carry fish; girls sort, pack and transport fish; and both boys and girls are often tasked with deep-water diving to clear entangled nets. Children usually work six to seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, and fishing expeditions can last for many days. These children are exposed to dangerous working conditions, long hours, sexual and physical abuse, and even death due to drowning, snake bites or physical abuse at the hands of boat or equipment owners.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Children as young as 3 years old were reportedly working in mines and quarries in Sierra Leone in 2012, with children as young as 10 subjected to contemporary forms of slavery in diamond mines. Children break apart, shovel and wash gravel all day, six days a week, for little to no compensation, with wages ranging from USD 0.15-0.60 per day. They are vulnerable to disease, injury and death due to collapsing mine pits. Children working in mines are denied educational opportunities, preventing them from escaping the cycle of poverty and enslavement. Families often cannot afford to send their children to school because they need their labour to supplement family earnings, as 60 per cent of the population lives in poverty, according to the United Nations Development Programme. The civil war in the country exacerbated children's vulnerability to slavery, as numerous child soldiers abducted by armed factions were subsequently forced to work in mining, many children lost their parents and schooling for most children was interrupted.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Supplementary Convention also alludes to child slavery. The Convention requires the abolition of "any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or his labour" (art. 1 (d)). Article 10, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that, "children and young persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development should be punishable by law." Drawing on this, ILO Convention No. 182 (1999) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour defines and prohibits the worst forms of child labour, including child slavery (arts. 1 and 3).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child participation 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Print and broadcast information are shared with children in many forms, including leaflets, cards, booklets, posters and television and radio broadcasts. These can form part of specific time-bound campaigns or continuing initiatives to raise awareness of and promote existing services such as helplines. They are produced using age-appropriate language, images, cartoons and attractive designs. In the context of its "ONE in FIVE" campaign to stop sexual violence against children, the Council of Europe created a character named Kiko, who appears in books, television spots and other materials, helping children, parents and carers to prevent, identify and appropriately respond to the sexual abuse of children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Children working in this sector face particular, and in some cases a combination of, physical, psychological, economic and sexual exploitation not found in other areas where children work. This is prohibited by article 1 (d) of the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery which forbids "any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour". The impact of these forms of abuses is not only immediate but has long-term harmful repercussions on the children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that not all children who work are exploited. Indeed, the Special Rapporteur acknowledges that in some situations working can enrich the development of the child, family and community. Child exploitation occurs when the work that a child carries out is hazardous or interferes with the child's education, or is harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development (art. 32, para. 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has also considered children working in mines and quarries in countries such as China (E/C.12/1/Add.107, para. 23) and Zambia (E/C.12/1/Add.106, para. 25). Most recently, it considered mining in Madagascar. The Committee recommended that the State party: reinforce the legal framework to combat child labour and adopt all the necessary legal and judicial measures to eradicate this phenomenon; support and reinforce the role of the family as an essential element for the protection of children and combat against child labour; and take all necessary measures to implement effectively all policies against child labour, including through awareness-raising campaigns for the public on protection of children, strengthen preventive measures, and prosecute and punish those who are responsible (see E/C.12/MDG/CO/2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Some unaccompanied children are brought to the mines and quarries by "middlemen" who traffic them from their families and leave them at the mines. Such a case has been reported for instance in Côte d'Ivoire. Children and their families are deceived as to the dangerous and exploitative nature of the work they will end up doing. Such practice is prohibited by article 1 (d) of the 1956 Supplementary Convention: "any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Some parents take out loans against their children's labour. Other parents sell their children and, upon their arrival in the mines, the children are charged exorbitant prices for their transportation to the mines, food and tools by the employer or middleman. In both these instances, the children are often unable to leave the mines or quarries until they have paid off the debt owed to the middleman or employer. In majority of the cases, children become bonded as a result of their parents' debt. Bonded labour is prohibited under the 1956 Supplementary Convention. Many children report not being able to save or even earn enough money to send back home. This results in them being unable to leave their situation until their debt is paid. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur received information that Bangladeshi and Nepali children were being purchased by middlemen or abducted and sold by gangs to mining employers in India. The price of the child varied from 50-75 USD. According to the information received, the children are forced to work to pay off their debt. The middlemen bring both boys and girls to work in the mines. The girls living and working in the mines are often sexually abused by adult mine workers and employers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The lack of traditional family and social structures in artisanal mining and quarrying communities increases the likelihood of child slavery. This is especially true for migrant and trafficked children working in this sector. They are often undocumented, do not receive any Government support or protection and are vulnerable to exploitation by mine employers. These communities are set up by people who for various reasons leave their traditional way of live and go to work in this sector. The communities are set up in an ad hoc manner with little or no regard to societal norms. These communities often attract those unable or unwilling to sustain traditional lifestyles or occupations (see A/HRC/18/30/Add.1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Children start to work with their families (parents or relatives), unpaid, in mines and quarries from the age of 3. They start by performing small tasks such as lifting stones, supplying adults with tools, breaking stones and sifting gravel in order to support the family and eventually end up involved in all aspects of mining and quarrying. Children in artisanal mines and quarries also cook and clean for their families and other adult mine workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur recommends that States ratify fully and implement all relevant international legal instruments to prevent child slavery such as the 1926 Slavery Convention, the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- For adults who continue to mine and quarry, Governments should also provide alternative livelihoods through which they can supplement the family income. This would increase the economic security of the families and diminish their need for child labour. A proven effective strategy in fighting child slavery is to promote the development of other activities which diversify the local economy and render it less dependent on this sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In many instances, the worst situations for children arise at the time of arrest by the police, and during transportation or subsequent questioning in police custody (see A/HRC/16/52/Add.5, para. 43 and A/HRC/22/53/Add.1, para. 73). During the period immediately following apprehension, children are at particularly high risk of physical, verbal and psychological violence, such as verbal abuse, threats and beatings, and they are too often not provided with information on their human rights and the allegations brought against them in a manner that they can understand. Following their arrest, children often do not have prompt and private access to legal assistance or notification of their parents or caregivers, which makes them even more vulnerable and subject to a higher risk of being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Detaining children and adults together will inevitably result in negative consequences for the children, who are five times as likely to be subjected to a substantiated incident of sexual violence, and are also much more likely to witness or experience other forms of violence, including physical harm by facility staff members. They are also more likely to commit suicide or engage in other forms of self-harm when housed in adult - rather than juvenile - facilities. Research also shows that imprisoning children with adults can result in increased recidivism and negative long-term consequences for children, their families and communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- 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, public community spaces, squares and bus and train stations. It does not include public buildings such as schools, hospitals or other comparable institutions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Children in street situations are not a homogenous group. Characteristics are diverse in terms of age, sex, ethnicity, indigenous identity, nationality, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, among others. This diversity implies different experiences, risks and needs. The nature and time spent physically on the street varies significantly from child to child, as does the nature and extent of relationships with peers, family members, community members, civil society actors and public authorities. Children’s relationships can help them survive on the streets and/or perpetuate conditions of violent abuse of their rights. Children engage in a range of activities in public spaces, including work, socialization, recreation/leisure, shelter, sleeping, cooking, washing and engaging in substance abuse or sexual activity. Children may engage in such activities voluntarily, through lack of viable choices or through coercion or force by other children or adults. Children may conduct these activities alone or in the company of family members, friends, acquaintances, gang members, or exploitative peers, older children and/or adults.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- States should assess how laws and policies can be improved to reflect the recommendations of the present general comment. States should, with immediate effect: remove provisions that directly or indirectly discriminate on the grounds of the street situation of children or their parents or family; abolish any provisions allowing or supporting the round-up or arbitrary removal of children and their families from the streets or public spaces; abolish where appropriate offences that criminalize and disproportionately affect children in street situations, such as begging, breach of curfews, loitering, vagrancy and running away from home; and abolish offences that criminalize children for being a victim of commercial sexual exploitation, and so-called moral offences, such as sex outside of marriage. States should introduce or review an act on child protection or children based on a child rights approach and that specifically addresses children in street situations. The act should be implemented by enabling policies, mandates, operating procedures, guidelines, service delivery, oversight and enforcement mechanisms, and developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, including children in street situations. States may need to develop nationally relevant policy and legal definitions of such children on the basis of participatory research, in contexts where this is necessary to facilitate interventions by legally mandated professionals and services. However, the process of developing legal definitions should not delay taking action to address rights violations.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Strategies need to address multiple causes, ranging from structural inequalities to family violence. They also need to take into account measures for immediate implementation, such as stopping round-ups or the arbitrary removal of children from public spaces, and measures to be implemented progressively, such as comprehensive social protection. A combination of legal, policy and service provision changes is likely to be needed. States should commit to fulfilling human rights beyond childhood. Particularly, States should ensure follow-up mechanisms for children in alternative care settings and in street situations as they transition into adulthood at the age of 18, to avoid an abrupt termination of support and services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Within a legislative and policy framework, budgeting for, developing and strengthening holistic child protection systems, on the basis of a child rights approach, forms the basis of the practical measures required for prevention and response strategies. Such national child protection systems need to reach children in street situations and should incorporate fully the specific services they need. The systems need to provide a continuum of care across all relevant contexts, including prevention, early intervention, street outreach, helplines, drop-in centres, day-care centres, temporary residential care, family reunification, foster care, independent living or other short- or long-term care options. However, not all of these contexts are relevant for all children in street situations. For example, prevention and early intervention are priorities for children at the early stages of developing strong and harmful street connections, but are not relevant for children born in street situations. Some children may not experience residential placements while, for others, family reunification is not relevant or appropriate. Strategies should make it clear that a child rights approach needs to apply to each and every context. Administrative burdens and delays in gaining access to child protection systems should be reduced. Information should be made available in child-friendly and accessible formats and children in street situations should be supported to understand and navigate child protection systems.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to respect the dignity of children in street situations and their right to life, survival and development by refraining from State-led violence and by decriminalizing survival behaviours and status offences; to protect children in street situations from harm caused by third parties; and to fulfil their right to life, survival and development by designing and implementing holistic long-term strategies, on the basis of a child rights approach, to secure their development to their fullest potential. States should assist trustworthy and supportive adults — such as family members or State or civil society social workers, psychologists, street workers or mentors — to help children in street situations. States should also put in place procedural and practical funeral arrangements to ensure dignity and respect for children who die on the streets.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- For those children in street situations without primary or proxy caregivers, the State is the de facto caregiver and is obliged, under article 20, to ensure alternative care to a child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment. Types of care include: practical and moral support to children on the streets, through a trustworthy adult street worker or peer support, without requiring or coercing children to renounce their street connections and/or move into alternative accommodation; drop-in and community/social centres; night shelters; day-care centres; temporary residential care in group homes; foster care; family reunification; and independent living or long-term care options including, but not exclusively, adoption. Deprivation of liberty, for example, in detention cells or closed centres, is never a form of protection.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Interventions that do not respect children as active agents in the process of moving off the street into alternative care do not work: children often end up back on the streets when they run away or when placements break down. Placements fail when children in street situations are sent to unfamiliar areas to live with little-known relatives. By applying a child rights approach to the development and provision of alternative choices, States will ensure that children are not forced to depend on their street connections for their survival and/or development and that they are not forced to accept placements against their will. States should ensure, through legislation, regulation and policy directives, that the child’s views are solicited and considered in decisions regarding placements, development and review of care plans, and visits with family. States should respect the established international parameters that limit institutionalization as a last resort, ensure that children are not placed in alternative care unnecessarily and ensure that, where alternative care is provided, it is delivered under appropriate conditions responding to the rights and best interests of the child. States should ensure that State and civil society-run shelters and facilities are safe and of good quality. Where placement with family members is deemed, in consultation with the children in street situations themselves, to be in their best interests, careful preparation and follow-up is needed on both sides. A transitional stage between the streets and a long-term placement is often required, the length of this period being determined on a case-by-case basis with the child. Use of police or other detention cells to accommodate children owing to lack of alternative care facilities is not acceptable.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Violence in all its forms — emotional, physical or sexual — is a fundamental cause and a consequence of children ending up in street situations. Violence of all kinds permeates the lives of children in street situations on a vast scale and it is a primary concern highlighted by children themselves. Specific, immediate and urgent measures need to be taken to protect children in street situations. In conjunction with all the recommendations in general comment No. 13, such measures include: prohibiting all forms of violence, including corporal punishment; mechanisms for reaching out to vulnerable children in the process of disconnecting from family and community; mechanisms for reporting violence, discrimination and other forms of rights violations; and mechanisms for holding perpetrators of violence to account, whether State or non-State, individuals or groups. Special mechanisms might have to be established to deal with individuals reported by these children as threats to their well-being, such as some members of the police and those involved in organized crime and drug trafficking.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States to implement the provisions of article 32 (2) of the Convention, and the International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), to protect children in street situations from economic exploitation and the worst forms of child labour. Action against child labour should comprise comprehensive measures, including the provision of support enabling children to transition into education and guaranteeing an adequate standard of living for them and their families. Such measures should be developed in collaboration with children in street situations and other key stakeholders to reflect children’s best interests and to ensure they do not have any inadvertent negative impact on children’s survival or development. The criminalization of begging or unlicensed trading can result in worse forms of survival behaviours, such as commercial sexual exploitation. Savings schemes to develop budgeting skills and safeguard earnings for children in street situations are beneficial.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
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