The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) organised this meeting in conjunction with the APPG on Street Children to hear about a unique research project working with 198 street children and youth living and working on the streets of three African cities – Accra (Ghana), Bukavu (DRC) and Harare (Zimbabwe).

We would like to thank the APPG Street Children Chair, Craig Whittaker MP, for chairing this event.

The speakers were:

• Dr Lorraine van Blerk, University of Dundee. (“LB”)
• Wayne Shand, University of Manchester. (“WS”)

The main points raised by the speakers were:

• Children’s rights are fairly well reflected in national statutes but there is extremely weak translation of rights into practice in the countries in which this research is being carried out. (WS)
• The enforcement of rights for street children is undermined by their social position as ‘out of place’, and a societal perception that it is normal to mistreat them. They are often seen as a threat to public order – to be policed not protected. (WS)
• The research showed the pervasiveness of violence in street children’s lives, both against them, often by police, and between them. As one street child in Accra describes: “He beat me, and I went to the hospital and he still hasn’t been arrested. We are worthless here.” (LB)
• In Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, the police have been shown to be perpetrators of murder and of sexual violence against street children. (LB)
• A lack of ID cards means street children lack status. This results in many being forced into unlicensed work, creating further conflict with authorities. (LB)
• Police and authorities are failing to pursue violent acts against street children and street children’s expectations of authorities to protect them are not met. As Taurai from Harare experienced: “The police officers started to beat up everybody… including the little street children.” (LB)
• The UN Committee on the Rights of Child has decided to develop, and is now working on, a new General Comment on the topic of street children. This will help states understand the unique needs of this often invisible group and encourage greater protection of their rights. (WS)
• Parliamentarians are encouraged to request the Department for International Development (DfID) to make a submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s call for evidence for the UN General Comment on Children in Street Situations. (LB)

The PHRG will continue to raise issues concerning some of the world’s most marginalised groups, including street children, in and though the UK Parliament.