The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 48/136 of 20 December 1993,
Recalling also Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/93
of 9 March 1994,
Welcoming the special attention given to the rights of
children in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in
particular in section I, paragraph 21,
Recalling the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted
by its resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, as a major contribution
to the protection of the rights of all children, including street
children,
Reaffirming that children are a particularly vulnerable
group in society whose rights require special protection, and
that children living under especially difficult circumstances,
such as street children, deserve special attention, protection
and assistance from their families and communities and as part
of national efforts and international cooperation,
Recognizing that all children have the right to health,
shelter and education, to an adequate standard of living and to
freedom from violence and harassment,
Deeply concerned about the growing number of street children
worldwide and the squalid conditions in which these children are
often forced to live,
Profoundly concerned that the killing of and violence against
street children threaten the most fundamental right of all, the
right to life,
Alarmed at continuing serious offences of this nature against
street children,
Recognizing the duty and responsibility of Governments
to investigate all cases of offences against street children and
to punish offenders,
Recognizing also that legislation per se is not enough
to prevent violations of human rights, including those of street
children, and that Governments should implement their laws and
complement legislative measures with effective action, inter alia,
in the fields of law enforcement and in the administration of
justice, and in social, educational and public health programmes,
Welcoming the efforts made by some Governments to take
effective action to address the question of street children,
Welcoming also the publicity given to and the increased
awareness of the plight of street children, and the achievements
of non-governmental organizations in promoting the rights of those
children and in providing practical assistance to improve their
situation, and expressing its appreciation of their continued
efforts,
Welcoming further the valuable work of the United Nations
Children's Fund and its National Committees in reducing the suffering
of street children,
Noting with appreciation the important work carried out
in this field by the United Nations, in particular the Committee
on the Rights of the Child, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography and the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme,
Bearing in mind the diverse causes of the emergence and
marginalization of street children, including poverty, rural-to-urban
migration, unemployment, broken families, intolerance, exploitation
and war, and that such causes are often aggravated and their solution
made more difficult by serious socio-economic difficulties,
Recognizing that the prevention and solution of certain
aspects of this problem could be facilitated in the context of
economic and social development,
Bearing in mind that in the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action all States are urged, with the support of international
cooperation, to address the acute problem of children in especially
difficult circumstances, and that national and international mechanisms
and programmes should be strengthened for the defence and protection
of children, including street children,
1. Expresses grave concern at the continued growth in the
number of incidents worldwide and at reports of street children
being involved in and affected by serious crime, drug abuse, violence
and prostitution;
2. Urges Governments to continue actively to seek comprehensive
solutions to tackle the problems of street children and to take
measures to restore their full participation in society, and to
provide, inter alia, adequate nutrition, shelter, health care
and education;
3. Strongly urges all Governments to guarantee the respect
for fundamental human rights, particularly the right to life,
and to take urgent measures to prevent the killing of street children
and to combat torture and violence against them;
4. Emphasizes that strict compliance with the provisions
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes a significant
step towards solving the problems of street children, and calls
upon all States that have not done so to become parties to the
Convention as a matter of priority;
5. Calls upon the international community to support, through
effective international cooperation, the efforts of States to
improve the situation of street children, and encourages States
parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in preparing
their reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to
bear this problem in mind and to consider requesting technical
advice and assistance for initiatives aimed at improving the situation
of street children, in accordance with article 45 of the Convention;
6. Commends the Committee on the Rights of the Child for
the attention it pays in its monitoring activities to the situation
of children who, to survive, are forced to live and work in the
streets, and reiterates its invitation to the Committee to consider
the possibility of a general comment on street children;
7. Recommends that the Committee on the Rights of the Child
and other relevant treaty-monitoring bodies give attention to
this growing problem when examining reports from States parties;
8. Invites Governments, United Nations bodies and organizations,
including the United Nations Children's Fund, and intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations to cooperate with each other
to ensure greater awareness and more effective action to solve
the problem of street children by, among other measures, initiating
and supporting development projects that can have a positive impact
on the situation of street children;
9. Calls upon special rapporteurs, special representatives
and working groups of the Commission on Human Rights and of the
Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, within their mandates, to pay particular attention
to the plight of street children;
10. Decides to consider the question further at its fiftieth
session under the agenda item entitled "Promotion and protection
of the rights of children".
94th plenary meeting
23 December 1994