Consortium for street children (CSC)
The principal coordinating group in the UK for street child NGOs is the Consortium for Street Children (CSC) at:
The Green House, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9DA
SSSK became a member of the Consortium in November 2007, and that gives us access to a range of meetings, publications and information.
The CSC members in 2018 are: https://www.streetchildren.org/csc-network/members/
The Consortium has been very influential during the development of the General Comment 21 about UN members responsibilities for the rights of children, including those who are street-connected.
It advocates for change where it matters most:
- Global and regional – working with our network to get street-connected children on the agenda of UN and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms.
- National – working with its network to support national-level initiatives for implementation of the General Comment No. 21 on Children in Street Situations through the 4 Steps to Equality campaign. Currently the CSC is working with members in Latin America, Africa and Asia to protect street children’s rights and dignity.
- UK – it convenes UK Parliamentarians to ensure street-connected children are on the UK Governments’ international agenda through the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Street Children.
The Consortium convenes an Advocacy Forum comprised of world class experts from both within and outside the network. They provide critical analysis and support our success.
After over 7 years of advocacy, the CSC was able to connect 1,044 street-connected children and 109 NGOs to the United Nations Child Rights Committee, resulting in the UN General Comment No. 21 on Children in Street Situations – the first official acknowledgement that street-connected children need special attention from governments to ensure they are able to access their rights. This is now the basis of the Steps to Equality campaign.
An extensive discussion of the significance of the CSC 2017 UN-General-Comment- can be downloaded here, or you can get a copy from the Consortium.
In 2018 the comment is being implemented in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, in partnership with the Government, Gurises Unidos (a local NGO), and the Consortium.