DECLARATION on Optimising the Health, Well-being and Rights of Street and Working Children

Recognizing that:

• Working children and those living in street situations are among the most vulnerable to violence, exploitation and exposure to hazardous and toxic environments, and experience profound violations of their human rights, as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
• The existence of street and working children and youth results from the complex intersections of political, social, economic, cultural, environmental and gender inequities: these may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic;
• As child health and social welfare professionals and activists, we have a responsibility to play a leadership role in advancing the rights, health and well-being of street and working children and youth, from birth through age 25, locally and globally.