Speaking out for street children at Human Rights Council

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

World Vision leaders from Albania, Lebanon and Malawi advocated for children's rights at a high level United Nations conference in Geneva, Switzerland on March 9, the UN day devoted to Child Rights. The theme of this day was focused on challenges street children face around the world. Representing Albania at this 16th Session at the Human Rights Council was Phil Ewert, Operations Director of World Vision in Albania & Kosovo. He spoke on behalf of the 2,500 children who are living or working in the streets of Albania. Ewert highlighted in particular the need for birth registration, access to quality education, and healthcare and protective services. Photographs taken by children who have or are still living or working on the streets were part of Ewert's presentation and were well received by all present. Ewert shared that World Vision in Albania & Kosovo is currently exploring innovative solutions such as Public Private Partnerships to address birth registration issues, as well as working with local and national partners to expand Albania's Child Protection Network. Important messages were also presented by World Vision Malawi and World Vision Lebanon who had participated in the recent reviews by the Human Rights Council of their countries through the submission of reports detailing a number of different concerns for children. Young members of World Vision Lebanon's Children's Council thanked their government for agreeing to make greater efforts to combat trafficking and child labour. They also urged their government to reconsider their rejection of the children's demand that nationality laws be amended in order to allow children of non-Lebanese fathers to obtain Lebanese citizenship which would thereby provide access to health care and education. Jennifer Philpot-Nissen of World Vision International highlighted the serious impact on the health of children living and working on the street and the need for mobile and child-friendly health outreach services. 'Street children are vulnerable to problems such as inadequate nutrition, sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancies, and exposure to HIV & AIDS,' said Philpot-Nissen. 'Government policies need to address these issues to improve the lives of street children.' Human rights are inextricably linked with the spread and impact of HIV & AIDS on individuals and communities around the world. Therefore, World Vision partnership experts supported Thiago Luchesi of World Vision International to successfully influence the drafting process of a resolution during this conference. This resolution is intended to strengthen these links and ensure that HIV & AIDS interventions are sustainable, safe and respect the inherent dignity of those affected. In particular, governments agreed with World Vision on the need to ensure that medicines and health care are available, accessible and affordable, and that the rights and needs of affected children must be treated as a priority. The UN Human Rights Council meets three times a year. Its four-week session each March is of particular interest to World Vision because it includes a focus on the rights of the child; giving World Vision and its partners an opportunity to advocate for changes to improve the lives of vulnerable children. -Ends-