The International Day for Street Children is annually observed across the globe on 12th April to acknowledge the strength and resilience of the street children across the globe. The day aims to highlight the efforts of street children to have their rights respected and meet their needs in a caring and respectful manner.
Background:
i.The International Day for Street Children has been globally celebrated since 2012.
ii.The Consortium for Street Children (CSC)’s network of organisations across the world recognise the International Day for Street Children between 6th April to 12th April.
‘4 Steps to Equality’ campaign:
i.The CSC launched the 5-year campaign – “4 Steps to Equality” in 2018, which was a call to the government to take 4 steps to achieve equality for street children.
ii.The Four actionable steps of the campaign, based on the UN General Comment on Children in a street situation, are,
Step 1: Commit to Equality
Step 2: Protect Every Child
Step 3: Provide Access to Services
Step 4: Create Specialised Solutions
iii.Under the 2021 theme – Access to Essential Services, the campaign focuses on Step 3: Provide Access to services since the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the conditions of the street children to get access to essential services.
Rights of Street Children:
i.The United Nations(UN) has acknowledged the rights of the Street Children in the document called “General Comment (No.21) on Children in Street Situation”.
ii.The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been signed and ratified by every country except the United States.
